Rory McIlroy risks severe punishment following furious club smash and X-rated rant at PGA Championship

RORY MCILROY was lucky to escape a warning for an expletive as his frustration boiled over during an ugly first round 74 at the USPGA. He raised plenty more eyebrows as he delivered a one-word verdict on his opening effort: “S***!” Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! Rory McIlroy made his thoughts on his start at the USPGA perfectly clear Credit: Getty He shot an ugly first round 74 Credit: Reuters It was hard to argue with him though. And it was obvious the double Masters champion was getting increasingly annoyed as he struggled to find any kind of spark at Aronimink. After carving his tee shot into deep rough at the par fourth hole – his 13th – the world No2 slammed his driver angrily into the turf. That paled in comparison with the outburst that brought Sergio Garcia the first ever ‘yellow card’ at the Masters, after he broke his driver by smashing it into the tee box markers and a water cooler. But McIlroy’s reaction was still enough for Sky commentator and former Ryder Cup golfer Andrew Coltart to question whether he could land himself in trouble under the new code of conduct rules. Coltart said: “Now then, with the strict code of conduct in place now, I just wonder whether the rules officials will take a look at that.” Part of that code states players “are expected to take good care of the course”. But the officials clearly decided he had not overstepped the mark – although it was hard to see why he should avoid a warning when South African golfer Garrick Higgo was handed a two-shot penalty for tuning up ONE MINUTE late for his tee time! Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK McIlroy was seen smashing his club on the floor in anger Credit: Twitter/@brody_myers15 Higgo did well to take that on the chin, and still shoot a one under par 69 – leaving him just two shots behind early leaders Min Woo Lee, Stephan Jaeger, Ryo Hisatsune and Aldrich Potgieter. McIlroy’s mood was not improved when that poor drive on the fourth led to a dropped shot – although there was far worse to come Even though he managed another bounce back birdie at the fifth, the world No2 finished with FOUR bogeys in a row. Aronimink has some of the widest fairways the pros will ever encounter. But McIlroy managed to find the short stuff just five times in 14 attempts. He also took an eye-watering 36 putts. Best golf holiday deals HERE are our top picks of the best golf trips. These packages all include flights from UK airports. * If you click on a link we will earn affiliate revenue. 🏌🏻 Majorca, Spain — 7 nights half board at 4* hotel plus golf at Golf Son Servera — FROM JUST £571pp ⛳ Belek, Turkey — 7 nights all inclusive plus golf at Carya — FROM JUST £837pp 🏌🏻 Vilamoura, Portugal — 7 nights and 5 rounds at Pestana Vila Sol Course — FROM JUST £999pp ⛳ Aphrodite Hills, Cyprus — 7 nights at a world class golf course — FROM JUST £1,284pp After that withering one-word assessment on his performance, he added: “After making that soft bogey on four, I just got on that bogey train at the end and couldn’t get off it. “I’ve sort of got a miss right going, and then I want to try to correct it. And then I’ll overdo it, and I’ll miss it left. It’s a little bit of back and forth that way. “So that’s pretty frustrating, especially when I pride myself on driving the ball well. “I just need to try to figure it out. Once I get under the gun, it just seems like it starts to go a little bit wayward on me.” McIlroy’s four-over-par start was still two shots better than Bryson DeChambeau, who was strongly fancied to go one better this week after finishing runner-up in the USPGA in each of the last two years. DeChambeau’s only birdie came at his final hole, the par five ninth – but that came on the back of five bogeys and a double, as he signed for a six over par 76. Comment now