Rory McIlroy’s miserable FedEx St Jude Championship took another unfortunate turn after his name was spelled incorrectly on his caddie’s bib.
The Northern Irishman has endured a difficult return to competitive golf at TPC Southwind, finding himself languishing towards the bottom of the leaderboard after two rounds in Memphis.
And there was another unwanted talking point on Friday when caddie Harry Diamond was spotted wearing a bib that read “MCLLROY”.
McIlroy’s surname had mistakenly been printed with a second L as he battled to get his tournament back on track alongside world No 1 Scottie Scheffler.
Remarkably, it is not the first time Diamond has walked the course carrying the same spelling mistake.
His bib also displayed “MCLLROY” instead of McIlroy during the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February 2024.
While the latest error was beyond McIlroy’s control, it rather summed up a frustrating couple of days for the six-time major champion.
McIlroy could only manage a level-par round of 70 on Friday after opening his FedEx Cup play-off campaign with a disappointing 74.
Rory McIlroy’s miserable FedEx St Jude Championship took another unfortunate turn after his name was spelled incorrectly on his caddie’s bib
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REUTERS
There had been signs of improvement during his second round before consecutive bogeys at his final two holes halted his momentum.
The 37-year-old consequently sits four over for the tournament and tied for 60th heading into the weekend.
Robert MacIntyre’s withdrawal through injury has reduced the field to 68 players, leaving McIlroy uncomfortably close to the foot of the leaderboard.
There is no 36-hole cut at FedEx Cup play-off events, however, meaning he will have the opportunity to repair some of the damage over the final two rounds.
Five things to know about Rory McIlroy | GB NEWS/GETTY
His struggles have been made even more striking by the performance of playing partner Scheffler.
The American delivered a masterclass on Friday, firing a spectacular nine-under 61 to equal the TPC Southwind course record.
Scheffler moved to 11 under overall and holds a three-shot advantage over Viktor Hovland and Sungjae Im, who are tied for second.
That leaves McIlroy a huge 15 shots behind his biggest rival after they played alongside each other over the opening 36 holes.
Ludvig Aberg is another stroke back at seven under, while Tommy Fleetwood remains among those in contention at six under alongside Jordan Spieth, Brian Harman and Nico Echavarria.
McIlroy arrived in Memphis following three weeks away from tournament golf.
Rory McIlroy arrived in Memphis following three weeks away from tournament golf
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REUTERS
He enjoyed time in Ibiza and Greece with family and friends following The Open at Royal Birkdale before returning to competitive action for the FedEx Cup play-offs.
McIlroy is already safely positioned to advance to next week’s BMW Championship, where the field will be reduced to the leading 50 players in the standings.
Only 30 will then qualify for the season-ending Tour Championship.
But McIlroy will first be desperate for a significant improvement over the weekend in Memphis as he looks to close the gap on his rivals.
