Rory McIlroy suffers bunker nightmare at The Open hole that Tiger Woods branded ‘simple’

Rory McIlroy was quickly reminded of the brutal bunkers at Royal Troon in his opening round at The Open Championship, as the Northern Irishman made a double bogey at the shortest hole in Open history

Rory McIlroy had a rough start at The Open Championship at Royal Troon, making a double bogey at the shortest hole in Open history.

McIlroy began his first round under challenging weather conditions on the Scottish coast, maintaining a level-par through his first seven holes. Despite an initial bogey at the first hole, McIlroy quickly regained his footing, scoring a birdie at the par-four third to return to level.

The eighth hole at Royal Troon, famously known as ‘The Postage Stamp’, is one of the most iconic on the course. The small putting surface is surrounded by some of the toughest bunkers in the setup, including the notorious ‘coffin’.

At a mere 118-yards, it’s the smallest hole on The Open rota. However, its short length doesn’t make it any less challenging, as McIlroy soon discovered.

In pursuit of a birdie, McIlroy played an aggressive tee shot towards the flag. Although it landed just a few feet to the right, its final position was far from ideal.

The four-time major champion watched as his ball rolled away from the hole and into a bunker on the right side. Standing over his ball in the sand, McIlroy’s goal was undoubtedly to get up-and-down. However, the tricky Postage Stamp green had other plans.

After his ball made a splashy exit from the sand and landed on the green, it cruelly rolled back towards him, ending up in the bunker again. Undeterred, he overcompensated with his third shot, sending it past the flag and leaving himself a tricky putt for bogey.

The 35 year old’s putt didn’t drop, resulting in a disheartening double bogey as he left the notorious hole. McIlroy isn’t the first to be tripped up by this infamous hole at the Ayrshire course, and with the unpredictable winds, he won’t be the last this week.

Tiger Woods, a three-time Open champion familiar with the hole’s challenges, maintains a deceptively simple view of it. “It’s just simple,” he remarked before the tournament. “I hit 9-iron and a pitching wedge the last two times I played it.

“I’ve hit as much as a 7-iron. But it’s a very simple hole; just hit the ball on the green. That’s it. Green good, miss green bad. It doesn’t get any more simple than that. You don’t need a 240-yard par-3 for it to be hard.”

McIlroy’s day worsened after making the turn. A bogey at the 10th was followed by a misdirected tee shot onto the train tracks down the right-hand-side of 11, which led to another double bogey and left him struggling on the first day.