Rory McIlroy's Abu Dhabi penalty turns on the grass behind his ball

Golf Channel's close-up replays show the action that turned a double bogey into a quadruple bogey.

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Golf Channel Story of November 6, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 155,542 views a day, 33 times a normal first day on this channel (4,666).

RORY TWO STROKE PENALTY AT ABU DHABI

How does a difficult escape from the rough become even more expensive? For Rory McIlroy in Abu Dhabi, the extra cost came before the swing: his club pressed down the grass behind the ball, bringing a two-stroke penalty for improving his lie.

Golf Channel's Short begins with trouble already unfolding. McIlroy hits from deep grass near the green, only for the ball to roll backward down the slope, leaving him with another awkward attempt. Close-up replays then show his club head pressing the grass behind the ball as he prepares to play again.

The next shot pops onto the green toward the pin. "That's a golf shot and a half," says a commentator. But the quality of the escape does not undo the penalty: Golf Channel says his double bogey on the par-four twelfth became a quadruple bogey, adding two strokes to his round.

The clip drew more than 110,000 views in its first thirteen hours, far beyond the channel's usual Short opening. Its comment section was unusually busy too, with viewers discussing the distinction between grounding a club in rough and improving the conditions for a shot. Resting the club behind the ball is not automatically a breach; pressing down grass to improve the lie is the issue here.

Away from the course, Golf Channel also drew an unusually large audience for a Golf Central report that BC Partners had dropped its LIV 2.0 bid. Todd Lewis and Rex Hoggard discuss the implications for the proposed venture and its players.

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