Fans convinced Rory McIlroy breached rule at The Open – but is all as it seems?

A POCKET of fans are convinced Rory McIlroy breached a golden rule at The Open.

But all was not as it seemed, with official golf guidelines confirming he actually did nothing wrong.

McIlroy hit headlines during Round 1 at Royal Liverpool after his third shot at the 18th hole got stuck in a bunker.

The Northern Irishman managed to get his ball free with the next hit.

But some fans claimed McIlroy’s Open shot had been illegal.

That’s because his caddie Harry Diamond appeared to be standing behind the ace as he made his stroke.

Rules dictate that caddies are not allowed to be behind golfers as they take swings to avoid giving any potential tips or help, even with just subtle movements.

One fan said: “How is this not a violation?”

Another declared: “He should be penalised to protect the integrity of the British Open.”

One added: “The rules of golf need to be completely scrapped, then re-written from the ground up.”

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However, official golf rules showed McIlroy did nothing wrong.

That’s because caddie Diamond only appeared to be in the restricted area to see if McIlroy needed his club cleaning.

And he immediately retreated as the British ace began to take his stance, with McIlroy therefore avoiding a penalty.

Rule 10.2 states: Aiming. The caddie must not stand in the restricted area to help the player with aiming. 

“This help includes when the caddie moves away without saying anything but, by doing so, is giving a signal to the player that they are correctly aimed at the intended target. 

“But there is no penalty if the player backs away before making the stroke and the caddie moves away from the restricted area before the player again begins to take a stance for the stroke.

“There is no penalty if the caddie was inadvertently standing in the restricted area.”