WATCH: Rory McIlroy’s Lucky Bounce off Grandstand at 2025 Tour Championship Leaves Scottie Scheffler Amazed

Rory McIlroy got lucky on the 18th hole as his shot from the bunker hit the wall and bounced back on the greens, which set him up for a birdie.

WATCH: Rory McIlroy’s Lucky Bounce off Grandstand at 2025 Tour Championship Leaves Scottie Scheffler Amazed

Rory McIlroy's lucky bounce back off the wall on the 18th hole left Scottie Scheffler smiling (Image via Golf Magazine/X/@PGATOUR)

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Luck seemed to be in favor of Rory McIlroy during the first round of the Tour Championship. While playing alongside Scottie Scheffler, the Northern Irish golfer had a lucky bounce off the grandstand on the 18th hole, which left the World No.1 amazed.

The top two golfers in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) finished top two in the FedEx Cup standings. As a result of their performances this year, Scheffler and McIlroy were the final pairing in the Tour Championship.

While none of them had the advantage they would previously have had due to the removal of the starting strokes format, the two of them seemed in command. As Scheffler kept his impressive run going, McIlroy remained in his pursuit.

On the par-5 18th hole, McIlroy’s 2nd shot would find the bunker, leaving him in an uncomfortable position. With the pin still a bit far away, he bladed his bunker shot.

His shot would sail over the greens and hit the grandstand and bounce back onto the greens. This ricochet would leave his ball on the putting surface. The 5-time major champion would shake his head in disbelief as Scheffler kept on laughing from the sideways.

Instead of needing to take a relief, McIlroy would make a 17-foot putt to make birdie on the final hole. As he celebrated the putt, Scheffler kept on smiling. Check out the video regarding this development below:

With a birdie on the 18th hole, McIlroy finished the first round with a score of 66. After making 5 straight pars to start the round, he made an eagle on the 6th hole and then a birdie on the 7th hole. He had a mixed back-nine with 3 birdies, 2 bogeys, and 4 pars.

Rory McIlroy admits he got ‘pretty lucky’ on the 18th hole

As Rory McIlroy and his playing partner Scottie Scheffler arrived on the 18th hole, they were running out of time as well. The weather conditions at East Lake in Atlanta drew some concerns about them not being able to finish the round. Following his break on the 18th hole, McIlroy admitted that he got ‘pretty lucky‘ in that situation.

Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy (Image via Imago)

After the round, McIlroy was swarmed with questions regarding his shot. The 2025 Masters Champion added that they might not have gotten to finish the round had the ball not bounced off the wall.

Pretty lucky in the end. I think as well, if it hadn’t have come down and we had to drop, we mightn’t have got finished, so lucky in a lot of different ways, lucky for the score and lucky we got done.

Rory McIlroy told the reporters

His rival, Scottie Scheffler, was also rooting for him on that hole. The World No.1 claimed that he was relieved to see the ball of McIlroy come back on the green.

I have never rooted so hard for somebody’s ball to come back, outside of my partner in a team event. Because we’re walking to 18 and Bones told us they were going to blow (the horn) at any second, so I’m watching his ball fly towards the grandstand. I’m like, oh, my gosh, we’ve got no way of finishing this thing, so I was relieved when I saw it come back on the green.

Scottie Scheffler said

After the first round, McIlroy trails Scheffler by 3 shots. Scheffler made 7 birdies on Thursday and finished the day with a score of 7-under 63.

The World No.1 is ranked 2nd in the standings after the first round and trails Russell Henley by 2 shots. Henley was the best performer of the day as he shot an incredible score of 9-under 61 with 7 birdies and 1 eagle to end the day top of the standings at the Tour Championship.

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