I DIDN’T KNOW WHITE POSTS WERE THERE

instead struck 16-year-old Jason Blue and flew straight right beyond two white out-ofbounds posts that McIlroy didn’t even know were there. McIlroy ran up a double-bogey six before getting the strokes back with birdies at the next two holes. He said: ‘I didn’t realise that there was out of bounds over there. It was out by a couple of inches. If he could have headed it back on to the fairway it would have been nice. ‘I said sorry to him, of course. What else can you say? The most important thing is that he was OK. It could have been terrible. ‘Overall I am pleased with the day. I think we had it slightly tougher than the guys in the morning and 67 was a score that I’m very pleased with. ‘Reacting to that unfortunate break on 15 the way I did, as well, is very pleasing. That may not have happened in previous years. I may have fizzled out.’ McIlroy signed his golf glove with the word ‘sorry’ and handed it to Jason at the scene of the incident. The youngster was treated at the course’s medical centre and last night McIlroy’s management team were trying to put him up in a luxury hotel after hearing he was due to camp with a friend. Jason said: ‘Rory came over and said, “Sorry, are you OK?” He was quite apologetic. ‘I don’t imagine he will be too happy with the fact I knocked it out of bounds — I’ll apologise if I see him again. ‘My parents saw it on the television. It took me a while to call them and tell them I was OK.’ The R&A last night confirmed they had put several groups ‘on the clock’ during yesterday’s play after warning the players on Wednesday they wouldn’t tolerate slow coaches. McIlroy said: ‘These are issues that have to be addressed because I think spectators don’t want to sit and watch TV and see guys not hitting shots and standing over their balls. You want to see it flow. ‘I think it’s definitely something we need to address because I don’t think a round of golf should take over five hours.’