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Ian Poulter gave Rory McIlroy his worst loss in 10 years at WGC Matchplay in Texas, with the Northern Irishman out of shape finding a nearby pool with a tee shot during a terror round.
Englishman Poulter won the opening game at Austin Country Club, 6 and 5. The last time McIlroy left the field this early was when Ben Crane beat him, 8 and 7, in the second round in 2011 when the event was in Arizona. .
McIlroy made a series of mistakes during his first game, making three putts from 18 feet on the fourth hole to give Poulter an early lead.
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The worst was yet to come in the fifth pin, as the four-time major winner’s drive deviated out of bounds and made his way into a resident’s pool.
Still, Poulter was clinging to a 1-up lead on the ninth hole at Austin Country Club when he hit a 7-to-8-foot iron for a birdie.
Darren Carroll / Getty Images
Rory McIlroy had a round to forget at Austin Country Club, hitting the ball into a pool from the fifth hole tee.
McIlroy hit the next hole on a poor pitch, and Poulter hit it with a 15-foot tee shot for birdie at 11 and a 4-8-foot iron for eagle at 12.
The game ended at the achievable 13 when McIlroy drove over the green and then backed across the green and into the water.
David J. Phillip / AP
Rory McIlroy, right, was in the shadow of Ian Poulter during their first-round match at the WGC Matchplay in Texas, losing 6 and 5.
McIlroy, 31, faces American Lanto Griffin in his next group match.
Their final competition is against Cameron Smith, the Australian who finished tied for second at last year’s Masters.
Austin’s 64 players are divided into 16 groups of four with only the group winners advancing to the knockout stages on the weekend.
McIlroy recently began working with prominent English coach Pete Cowen, although he has yet to say to what extent. And Wednesday (Thursday NZT) was not the day for such revelations. He declined to speak to the media.
