Rory McIlroy throws the club into the water after missing a shot

While missing the fairway off the tee doesn't seem like a punishable offense for McIlroy's 3-wood, the broadcast team provided some context. McIlroy just bogeyed three from 45 feet on the previous hole, on the par-3 16th – his second bogey of the day. And on No. 17, an accessible par-5, hitting a drive into the rough isn't ideal if a player wants a good birdie look or better.

Like Scheffler, whose explosive blast on Friday followed a water ball and a mishit wedge on the tee, there was more than one aspect to McIlroy's club play on the water.

Luckily for McIlroy, the club didn't completely sink and was able to be retrieved from the water's edge. After taking his tee, McIlroy calmly collected the club and handed it to his caddy. He was able to split the hole, too.

At three games under par, McIlroy is currently T15 in the middle of the BMW Championship, and if his position does not improve over the next two rounds, he is currently expected to drop from No. 5 to No. 8 in the FedEx Cup points standings. heading to the Tour Championship at East Lake next week.

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia's first varsity golf class, Jessica knows how to outrun everyone on the golf course. He can pass them through the office, too, where he is primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF's first Style Issue, which began in February 2018. His first interview series, “A Round With,” released in November 2015, and appeared in both magazine and video form on GOLF.com.