Look: Rory McIlroy broke a spectator’s hand with an errant Open tee shot

Rory McIlroy had a storybook start to The Open Championship at St. Andrews, save for an errant drive that one spectator will surely never forget. 

Just about everything went right for Rory McIlroy in the first round of The Open Championship at St. Andrews. He sunk a putt of over 50 feet on the first hole to start off with a birdie and then didn’t look back. McIlroy made seven birdies and just one bogey on the day to put him in solo second place behind only Cameron Young.

There’s no doubt that Rory is in the mix to kick his major championship drought. But there was one aspect of the day that was less than ideal from the Northern Irishman.

Namely, one of his errant drives went a little too wayward and hit a spectator. And while many fans are able to shake it off when they get hit by a golf ball and likely only leave with a bruise as a souvenir, this fan was not so lucky.

Open Championship: Rory McIlroy’s errant drive broke a spectator’s hand

Charlie Kane was the fan in question and also a social media employee for the PGA Tour. And McIlroy’s tee shot hit him square in the knuckle, resulting in a broken hand. Kane, however, handled it like a champ, going to the hospital to get it splinted and slinged before returning to the Old Course.

Also, it’s good to know that Rory did yell fore right and that Kane just didn’t heed the warning. It would be slightly more controversial if McIlroy hadn’t given the customary warning.

This is just about the only blemish on the day for McIlroy, though. He’s clearly curbed the first-round major woes that many hounded him for over recent years and is in contention yet again. Now comes the hard part — putting it together over the final 54 holes and getting that all-elusive major victory.

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