Slippery Banana Skin Sees McIlroy Sliding Backwards In Melbourne

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It’s hard to believe that Grand Slam winning Rory McIlroy seems to be having such bizarre bad luck at this week’s Crown Australian Open.

Thursday it was battling the indifferent early morning tee-off conditions, day two it was taking a ‘fresh air’ swing down the 14th hole on route to a bogey at Royal Melbourne.

Now on day three a banana skin lying in thick grass to the left of the second fairway has seen McIlroy slide nine shots behind Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen who leads by two heading into  last round of the co-sanctioned event.

Huge crowds again flocked to the course and this despite intermittent showers.

However those hoping for a McIlroy resurgence were let down when he missed the fairway on the par-four second at the DP World Tour event, with his ball landing next to a big tuft of grass and under a discarded banana skin.

McIlroy could not remove the ‘skin’ for fear of his ball moving, and if so it would have been ao one-stroke penalty. The Masters champion’s only option was to take his medicine and hack it out and hopefully back onto the fairway.

McIlroy could only move the ball some 10 metres and in the end walking off with a gut-wrenching double-bogey.

Undeterred, the World No. 2 immediately bounced back birdieing the third – the first of six birdies, mixed with a seventh hole bogey and for a second occasion in three rounds, in an eventual second succession round of 68 for a three-round five-under tally and distant share of 24th place.

“I feel like this week’s a week of firsts in a lot of ways”, said McIlroy.

“I mean, I shouldn’t have been there in the first place. It was in that little tuft of long grass, and then the banana skin over it.

“I shouldn’t have been there in the first place, was a terrible tee shot. It wasn’t the best way to start, but I felt like I played well after that”.

McIlroy had been asked if he thought of asking for relief from the bush nor did he ask.

“No, I don’t think so”, he replied.

“No, because I assumed I wouldn’t. The banana, it’s a loose impediment and it was rested on the ball. So if I moved the banana peel the ball would’ve moved. So I just didn’t even try.

“But I feel like I played well after that. Sort of got a feel for it a little bit and especially I feel like I played the back nine well. Just need to figure out how to make a few more birdies on the front.

“Probably going to be a little too far behind to try to challenge tomorrow,” he added. “But I’ll try to end the week on a positive note, and go out there and shoot my my lowest score of the week.”

McIlroy will need something special to overhaul Neergaard-Petersen who birdied four of his closing five holes in a second straight five-under 66 and lead by two at 14-under.

A strong highlight of theWorld No. 82s three rounds in playing the 14th hole in five-under thanks to back-to-back eagles on day one and two and a third round birdie.

“It’s been good just kind of getting used to the conditions, playing firm and fast golf courses,” he said.

“I’ve been able to finish well here over the last couple of events, even in rounds, so it’s nice to finish off well today”.

The Dane is coming off a decent 2025 European Tour year, with Neergaard-Petersen runner-up at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters and Puerto Rico Open, before securing his promotion to the 2026 PGA Tour after he also birdied three of his last four holes in the final round of the DP World Tour Championship, where he tied for 3rd behind Matt Fitzpatrick and McIlroy.

Aussie golfing heart-throb Cameron Smith (66), four-time PGA Tour winner Kim Si-woo of South Korea (65) and Mexican LIV player Carlos Ortiz (66) share second on 12-under.

A chip-in eagle at the 14th sent Smith into the then lead only for the LIV star to end of a sour note with an 18th bogey as the Ripper GC captain seeks to end a more than two-year winless drought.

“I just feel like I didn’t have my best stuff out there today,” said Smith.

“I definitely didn’t feel as comfortable over the ball, but just went through the process and hit the right shots and didn’t really shy away from that.

“I don’t think anything has to change, really,” he added of his plan for Sunday. “I’ll probably go hit a few balls now, just clean up some stuff.”

Hot-shot yound Spaniard Jose Luis Ballester is a shot further back, one ahead of Australians Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee and New Zealander Daniel Hillier.

Ballester is coming off his stunning recent success at the Asian Tour’s season-ending PIF Saudi International in Riyadh.

 



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