Rory McIlroy says club toss into lake ‘felt good at the time,’ earns praise for form

Rory McIlroy finished Friday’s second round at Doral with a lighter golf bag than when he started, and after flinging his 3-iron into a water hazard during a frustrating spell at the WGC-Cadillac Championship, he will likely be heading to Bay Hill a bit lighter in the wallet as well.

Don’t ask the PGA Tour if McIlroy faces a fine for his fit of pique on the par-five eighth hole because the suits at Ponte Vedra won’t tell, but it’s safe to assume the world No. 1 will receive a slap on the wrist for what he called a rather un-“role model-ish” act.

“Frustration got the better of me,” McIlroy said after posting a bogey on the hole, earning style points for his sidearm toss, and somehow ending up with a 2-under 70 for his efforts. “I’ve been sort of fighting that [left-leaning] miss basically for the last couple of weeks.”

After yanking his shot to the left of the green, McIlroy took careful aim and flung the offending 3-iron about 50 yards into the same watery grave. Letting his emotions get the better of him seemed to calm him down, as he subsequently carded three birdies and a bogey on the way to the clubhouse.

In an interview with Golf Channel after the round, Rory made a humorous grimace as he was shown video of the toss.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Yup, it’s a 3-iron from Rory that sleeps with the fishes <a href="https://t.co/gItS6HCxBb">https://t.co/gItS6HCxBb</a></p>— Emily Kay (@golfexaminer) <a href="https://twitter.com/golfexaminer/status/573978625818685440">March 6, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“It wasn’t something that I would encourage anyone to do. I wouldn’t encourage kids to do it if they were watching on television. It wasn’t very role model-ish of me,” said McIlroy, who will enter the weekend of the no-cut event at 1-under -- eight strokes behind 36-hole leader J.B. Holmes. “It felt good at the time but right now I regret it.”

McIlroy joked that he estimated the club went 60 or 70 yards, and the he knew he wasn’t going to use a 3-iron for the rest of the round so, “Why not?” (via Alex Miceli)

At least the four-time major champ won kudos for his pitching from one of his playing partners and other observers.

“It was a good release,” said Henrik Stenson, who’s had his share of temper tantrums. “He had good speed on that one ... Takes one to know one, you know.”

Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee could not help but chortle about McIlroy’s chicanery.

“Every single professional golfer that played this game for a living at the highest level smiled when [Rory] did that,” Chamblee, no doubt offering the day’s prevailing opinion, said on Golf Central later Friday night.

“He’s invested in the round, physically, mentally, technically, and certainly emotionally,” Chamblee added. “Would you rather see that or would you see someone playing a round of golf dispassionately?”

The noted Woods scold unconvincingly sought to allay any cries of double standard.

“For those people out there that say, ‘hey, Tiger would have gotten a pass,’” he said, though he probably meant a the opposite of a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Chamblee absolutely strained the limits of credulity when he claimed, “I don’t ever remember sitting on this stage and criticizing Tiger Woods.”

Bubba Watson, Rory’s other playing partner, evaded questions about the toss. “I thought it was a practice swing and the grip was wet,” he said. “I just don’t have any comments for that, because, you know, we all get frustrated, so there’s no reason to say anything negative about it.”

Despite showing off some throwing skills that next week’s pigskin-hurling Augusta golf date Tom Brady might admire (and that would likely have earned Tiger Woods harsh rebukes rather than “attaboys”), McIlroy has not begun his run-up to the Masters as he would have liked.

McIlroy was “pissed off” to miss the cut at last week’s Honda Classic in his 2015 tour debut and has certainly not shown the form that won him two straight majors to end 2014 and last month’s Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour.

“Mentally, it was a bit of a grind,” said the four-time major champion, who is no stranger to taking out his rage on his defenseless swoosh sticks. “I was getting frustrated at times. I got off to a good start and then to give those shots away ... I felt like any time I took a couple steps forward, I was taking one step back.”