Royal Birkdale .. 

It has to be one of the strangest sights seen in championship golf for some time

First it was former Open champion Rory McIlroy who sent his tee shot at the par five, 15th way right off the tee only to be followed by Charl Schwartzel.

McIlroy found his ball embedded that had landed close to a spectator course directional metal post while Schwartzel eventually found his ball some 25 yards further back in the deep rough.

However there was a metal spectator sign held in place by four large bolts and under R & A rules  was deemed a movable obstruction but who had a socket spanner that could take down the post.

John Paramor, and the Chief Referee, arrived on the scene carrying a socket spanner and then got down on his hands and knees to undo the four bolts.

The whole exercise was a dream for spectators filming the whole episode on their mobile phones.

“I guess the spectator signage to where to go, they’ve bolted those into the ground and they needed to get an Allen key to remove it,” said McIlroy.

“They wouldn’t give me a drop. I actually had an embedded ball there. Every other week we get relief from. But because we’re playing with the R&A rules this week, we don’t get relief from an embedded ball, so a double whammy.”

It was Schwartzel first away and followed by McIlroy who found a bunder with his second before walking off with a bogey 6 and one of two bogeys but also four birdies in his round.

McIlroy heads to day three of the 146th Open lying just five shots behind American Jordan Spieth.

“Very happy. I think anything around even par today is going to be a great score,” he said.

“I got off to a good start, which I think is important today. The back nine is playing really, really difficult. So to birdie three of the first six and give myself that little bit of a cushion to play with was nice. I made some key up-and-downs on the start of the back nine.

“To be in after two days and be under-par for this championship after the way I started, I’m ecstatic with that”.