Rory McIlroy smashes U.S. Open tee marker in shocking moment

Rory McIlroy made two late birdies on Friday evening to make the cut at the 2025 U.S. Open. You would think that would have made him happy. You would have thought wrong. McIlroy’s frustration boiled over in Round 2 at Oakmont, climaxing with the Masters champion smashing a tee marker with his club.

Before that McIlroy was caught tomahawk-throwing his club, and afterward McIlroy refused USGA requests to meet with the media.

McIlroy struggles early in Round 2, throws club

After shooting a 74 in the opening round at Oakmont, McIlroy knew he’d need a solid score on Friday to get into contention to win his second U.S. Open title. But at first, only double black squares appeared on his scorecard.

McIlroy made devastating double bogeys at the 1st and 3rd holes to quickly move to eight over for the tournament. He got one back with a birdie at the 9th, but by then the reality was clear. Instead of battling for the lead, McIlroy would be spending all Friday fighting to make the cut.

When he made bogey at 11 to drop back to eight over, the frustration neared a breaking point. So much so that when he hit a squirrelly approach shot at the par-5 12th hole, McIlroy reared back and threw his club, tomahawk-style, 20 yards down the fairway.

Rory destroys tee marker at Oakmont with club smash

Despite the poor second shot and club throw, McIlroy still saved par at 12, and then made two more pars at 13 and 14. At 15, he made his second birdie of the day, moving him back to seven over and right near the cut line.

At that point, McIlroy knew he needed to at least par his way in, or even get one more birdie, to secure his tee time for Saturday. So when his tee shot at the short par-4 17th started tailing away from his target, he lost it.

McIlroy took his club, which appeared to be a fairway wood, and smashed into a white U.S. Open tee marker on the 17th tee. The tee marker exploded on impact, sending one piece flying back to hit McIlroy in the leg. Check out the angry moment below.

Despite the emotional eruption, McIlroy was somehow able to make par at 17 and followed it up with a birdie at 18 to finish at two over for the day and six over for the tournament, finishing one better than the cut line of seven over.

But as has become routine for the five-time major champion lately, McIlroy declined to speak to reporters after the round, as he had done on Thursday evening. So we’ll have to wait to hear his own explanation for the series of unsavory on-course conduct.

However, it is very reminiscent of McIlroy’s behavior ever since we won the 2025 Masters in April. McIlroy has admitted that completing his lifelong dream of winning the career Grand Slam has zapped his motivation. But it’s also caused him to skip post-round media sessions more frequently, as he did repeatedly at the PGA Championship last month.

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