What Rory McIlroy actually did with the phone he took off a heckler at the Players Championship after video footage ended

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While Rory McIlroy had an eventful opening round of the Players Championship, it was what happened during the practice round at TPC Sawgrass which many wanted to speak to the Northern Irishman about.

Rory McIlroy is looking to win the Players Championship for a second time this week. The 35-year-old will also be hoping to lay a marker down ahead of the Masters as he looks to finally end the wait to complete the career grand slam.

And McIlroy was in no mood to laugh when one spectator at TPC Sawgrass decided to poke fun at his drive in practice finding the water on the 18th hole.

The heckler claimed it was, ‘just like Augusta in 2011’, when McIlroy threw away a four-shot lead before the final round. McIlroy could then be seen approaching the person and took their phone before walking away.

What Rory McIlroy did with heckler’s phone at TPC Sawgrass

McIlroy refused to comment on the incident when speaking to the media after the first round. And the video which has made the rounds on social media does not clear up what happened next.

But according to The Telegraph, Luke Potter – the youngster who made the comment – was escorted out of the grounds by security. And the report notes that McIlroy did indeed hand the phone back to security before the 20-year-old left TPC Sawgrass.

Potter has since written to McIlroy and Jay Monahan to apologise. It turns out that he is a highly-rated amateur golfer at the University of Texas and expected to have a chance at making the PGA Tour in the years to come.

Not the first hecklers Rory McIlroy has dealt with on the PGA Tour season

It is, unfortunately, not the first time that McIlroy has had to deal with comments from outside the ropes that he has not been happy with this year.

At the Genesis Invitational, McIlroy snapped back at a spectator after he was told to blame his caddie following a missed putt during the final round. McIlroy endured a frustrating day at Torrey Pines as he failed to launch any sort of challenge.

McIlroy’s actions at Sawgrass will divide opinion. Some will probably feel that he could have shown more of a sense of humour – particularly when the comment concerned a round from 14 years ago.

However, McIlroy arguably dealt with the incident superbly. As it turns out, the spectator should have known a lot better than to think it was a good idea to heckle someone who has just found the water off the tee – even in a practice round.

McIlroy did not damage the phone and it is seemingly back with Potter. It will be interesting to see whether their paths cross again in the future.