Rory McIlroy threw golf ball into crowd after making first ever PGA gap in a single

Rory McIlroy partially atoned for his US Open heartbreak by hitting an unimaginable hole-in-one on the Travelers Championship on Thursday. But a scarcity of sentimentality resulted within the Northern Irishman throwing the fortunate golf ball away straight after the beautiful second.

The world No 3 was one over for his first spherical at TPC River Highlands in Connecticut when his 214-yard 5-iron tee shot on the eighth gap bounced twice earlier than rolling straight into the outlet for an ace – his first ever on the PGA Tour. The shot delighted the wholesome crowd across the inexperienced.

McIlory celebrated his unlikely achievement on the tee field however later revealed that he had given his ball away straight after choosing it out of the cup.

Speaking to reporters after finishing his two-under spherical of 68, he stated: “I threw it away or something. I’m not sentimental. I don’t care. I’d rather have trophies than golf balls.”

McIlroy got here near ending his nine-year drought and not using a main title after ending runner-up on the US Open final week, one shot behind shock winner Wyndham Clark.

A scarcity of magic with the putter proved to be McIlroy’s undoing and he was enduring related woes within the Travelers Championship on Thursday till he took his putter out of the equation fully by sinking a hole-in-one to report an eagle on the Par 3 eighth.

Describing what occurred, he stated: “[It was a] five iron, 215 yards, slightly back into the wind off the right. As hole-in-ones go, I’ve had hole-in-ones in the past where it has been like an OK shot and you get a bit of luck. [But] that was the best shot of the day that I hit. It’s obviously a bonus for it to go into the hole, but it was really cool.

“I performed fairly averagely up till that time. I felt like that hole-in-one type of acquired me going a bit. I birdied the subsequent couple of holes after that and that type of acquired me into the match a bit.”

McIlroy will need to produce a better round on Friday if he is to gain ground on the tournament leaders, with American Dennis McCarthy currently top of the leaderboard on 10 under. Adam Scott and Keegan Bradley sit two shots adrift of McCarthy on eight under, with world No 1 Scottie Scheffler a further stroke back.

The Ryder Cup star has seven top-10 finishes to his name in 12 events this season, winning once and finishing runner-up on two occasions. But he also missed the cut at both the Players Championship and The Masters during a slump in form.

But with four consecutive top-10 finishes now under his belt, the four-times Major winner will be hoping that he is hitting form at just the right time to launch a genuine assault on UK soil when the Open Championship will get underway at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake on the Wirral on July 16.