Rory McIlroy is having an eventful time at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. After making a slam dunk hole-in-one at Spyglass Hill during the opening round, another incredible tee shot got social media buzzing on Friday.
This time, McIlroy was playing at Pebble Beach, where he took an unusual course of action at the par-5 573-yard 14th.
The conventional approach at the dogleg right is to aim for the left side of the fairway off the tee to leave a clear approach towards the green. Indeed, that was the tactic used by overnight leader Sepp Straka on his way to a birdie at the hole in his second round.
However, McIlroy is built a little differently from most golfers. The 35-year-old possesses one of the longest drives in the game and he used that to immense effect on his tee shot while also demonstrating an impressive capacity to innovate.
Rather than take the tried and trusted route towards the hole, the four-time Major winner instead opted to go right over some trees, bypassing two bunkers to the right of the fairway and landing some 30 yards clear of most other competitors in the middle of the fairway.
After footage of the shot was posted on X by the PGA Tour, it didn’t take long for fans to offer their takes on the extraordinary effort.
What trees? 😳@McIlroyRory takes a ridiculous line on No. 14 @ATTProAm.📺 Golf Channel pic.twitter.com/S2tyzv5Y3lJanuary 31, 2025
One self-deprecatingly wrote: “That tee shot looks like one I'd hit. However, in my case, it would be my ball going right while the fairway is a dogleg left,” while another responded with similar humor, writing: “Same line I play when I play Pebble... On my PS3...”
That tee shot looks like one I'd hit. However, in my case, it would be my ball going right while the fairway is a dogleg leftJanuary 31, 2025
Same line I play when I play Pebble... On my PS3...February 1, 2025
Meanwhile, others were happy to simply express their admiration for McIlroy’s ability. One X user wrote: “No worries there Rory, hitting over the trees, Superb shot, brilliant,” while another wrote: “He’s a machine. Awesome!!”. Another fan responded: “Hitting it over that tree is insane.”
No worries there Rory, hitting over the trees, Superb shot, brilliant 👏January 31, 2025
He’s a machine 💪🏻 Awesome!!January 31, 2025
hitting it over that tree is insaneJanuary 31, 2025
McIlroy eventually made par at the hole on his way to a two-under 70 as he ended the day six behind Straka in his bid for a first title at the event.
Overall, it was a somewhat inconsistent day for the star. After making four birdies on the front nine, he made successive bogeys before tackling the 14th. Two more bogeys followed on the 16th and 17th before he finished the day with an eagle.
