Golf star Rory McIlroy found himself in an odd confrontation during the Players Championship on Wednesday, as he seemingly confiscated a spectator’s phone following his tee shot.

The incident, which quickly made rounds on social media, shows the 35-year-old golfer executing his tee shot and then heading straight for the crowd to his left. The footage captures McIlroy asking a fan, “can I see your phone?” before grabbing it from the stunned spectator’s hands and walking away.

Rory McIlroy was apparently mocked by the fan

The bewildered fan remains frozen, hand outstretched, as his companion watches in disbelief. McIlroy is seen fiddling with the device momentarily before lowering it and taking it along the course. Online speculation suggests the fan might have taunted McIlroy about a poor tee shot, allegedly ending up in the water. Following this, McIlroy is said to have driven his second shot onto the fairway, just before the peculiar episode unfolded.

An attendee claimed that the heckler had yelled, “just like 2011 at Augusta” after McIlroy’s initial shot—a jab at his notorious meltdown at the 2011 Masters where he squandered a substantial lead on the final day, missing out on the coveted green jacket.

McIlroy had been the star of Augusta entering the Sunday showdown with a comfortable four-shot lead over Jason Day. However, what unfolded on that final round was nothing short of catastrophic for him.

A series of bogeys and misfired putts led him to the 13th tee where he needed a miracle to jump back into the fray, but his tee shot disastrously plunged into the water, essentially sealing his fate.

Since that fateful day, Augusta has turned into McIlroy’s nemesis, with lingering questions of whether he’ll finally triumph in Georgia hanging over his career. Nonetheless, McIlroy has kicked off 2025 on a high note, clinching victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro/Am in February.

Rory McIlroy appeared to ask: “Can I see your phone?” as he wandered over to the fan ( Image: TWITTER/X)

Rory McIlroy was then seen taking the phone straight off the fan

His performances might have wobbled slightly at the Genesis Invitational and the Arnold Palmer Invitational, yet the buzz is building as Augusta approaches once again.

Trying to deflect the immense pressure of achieving the coveted career grand slam, McIlroy will nonetheless be the center of attention when he arrives in Augusta next month. He’s already announced plans to visit Augusta National for some preparatory rounds before the Masters tees off.

At a talk on Wednesday at TPC Sawgrass, McIlroy shared insights into his current form: “I’d say even the two finishes post-Pebble [Genesis and Arnold Palmer] have been almost like the worst that they could be. I finished bad on Sunday at Bay Hill. I finished bad on Sunday at Torrey Pines, as well.

“But the one thing I would say is the turnaround in my putting from Torrey to Bay Hill was great. I finished, I think, fifth [actually seventh] in putting last week, so to see that turn around was really encouraging. That’s something for me to be really encouraged about going into this week, obviously, and then the next few months.”