MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 06: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his third shot on the second hole on day three of the Crown Australian Open 2025 at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club on December 06, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jonathan DiMaggio/Getty Images)
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While Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen closed out Cameron Smith in dramatic fashion on the final green of the Australian Open, Rory McIlroy added to golf’s growing list of unusual lies.
This collection of “lies” has nothing to do with truth-telling; they are simply some of the most bizarre places golf balls have come to rest over the years, often leaving players with memorable predicaments.
Rory McIlroy – Australian Open (2025)
During his Saturday round, Rory McIlroy hit an errant tee shot that landed inside a banana peel. Rules officials were summoned, but because the banana peel was deemed a natural object, relief was not granted. McIlroy elected to play the ball as it lay, striking it from inside the peel and carding a double bogey on the hole.
“I know, it was sort of a double whammy,” McIlroy said in his post-round interview. “It was in that little tuft of long grass and then the banana skin over it, but I shouldn’t have been there in the first place—it was a terrible tee shot.”
Source: Golf.com
Phil Mickelson – 2014 Barclays Championship
At the 2014 Barclays Championship at Ridgewood Country Club, Phil Mickelson hit the hospitality tent on back-to-back days. Mickelson played each shot from inside the structure, making par the first day and bogey the next.
“Again! Fore left!” Mickelson shouted during his Friday round as his ball bounded toward the tent on the left side of the fairway.
Fans embraced the moment, spray-painting an “X” near the general landing area of Mickelson’s tee shots. The tradition continued until the tournament moved away from Ridgewood.
Source: Golf Digest
Sergio García – 2013 Arnold Palmer Invitational
A wayward tee shot from Sergio García on the 10th hole at Bay Hill Club left his ball lodged 15 feet up in a tree. With help from a golf cart, García climbed the tree to identify his ball and eventually pitched it back to the fairway with a one-handed wedge shot.
Although the shot was successful, he injured his shoulder in the process, made double bogey, and ultimately withdrew from the event.
“First I climbed to identify the ball, and I saw I could hit it one-handed,” García said in a statement on his website. “Luckily it went OK.”
Source: The Guardian
MONTREAL – SEPTEMBER 28: Woody Austin of the U.S. Team plays his second shot from the water at the par 4, 14th hole during the round two fourball matches at the Presidents Cup at The Royal Montreal Golf Club September 28, 2007 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
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Woody Austin – 2007 Presidents Cup
Things got wet and wild at the 2007 Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal Golf Club. United States team member Woody Austin pulled his tee shot on the short par-4 14th into a water hazard. Believing the ball might be playable, Austin removed his shoes, rolled up his pants, and waded in.
During his swing, he slipped on a submerged rock and fell backward, nearly submerging himself as the ball failed to advance. Even the normally stoic Tiger Woods was seen laughing.
“The odds were very slim, but you don’t want to concede the hole without ever playing it,” Austin said. “We felt like if there was any minor miracle, I could get it to the bank and maybe chip it in. I didn’t know there was a rock in there, and it hammered the club. Then I stepped on another one, lost my balance, and I was done for.”
Source: Golf Digest
31 Jan 1999: Tiger Woods watches as fans move the boulder out of the way during the Phoenix Open at the TPC of Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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Tiger Woods – 1999 Phoenix Open
One of the most famous loose-impediment rulings came at the 1999 Phoenix Open when Tiger Woods’ tee shot on the par-5 13th settled against a massive boulder. After giving the rock a nudge with his shoe, Woods called in Rules Official Orlando Pope.
“Tiger said he thought it was decorative and that it wasn’t attached—that it was a loose impediment. I’ve got to give him credit. Looking back, I would have never thought about asking for that ruling,” Pope said.
After examining the underside of the boulder, Pope agreed that it was, indeed, loose.
“Tiger then asked if he could move it, and I said yes,” Pope recalled in a 2023 interview. “Tiger thought for a moment, then asked if he could have help. I responded, ‘You can have all the help you want.’”
Woods enlisted a group of eight spectators to roll the boulder aside. His second shot found a fairway bunker, but he recovered and made birdie.
Source: PGA Tour
Golf.com (Rory McIlroy banana peel incident)
Dethier, Dylan. “Rory McIlroy Was Denied Relief from a Banana Peel. Here’s Why.” GOLF.com, 30 Nov. 2024, https://golf.com/instruction/rules/rory-mcilroy-banana-peel-relief/.
Golf Digest (Phil Mickelson and Woody Austin anecdotes)
Piastowski, Nick. “The 14 Weirdest, Wildest Lies in Golf History.” Golf Digest, 8 Apr. 2024, https://www.golfdigest.com/story/the-14-weirdest-wildest-lies-in-golf-history.
The Guardian (Sergio García tree incident)
Booth, Robert. “Sergio García Plays Shot from Tree at Arnold Palmer Invitational.” The Guardian, 25 Mar. 2013, https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/mar/25/sergio-garcia-tree-arnold-palmer-international.
PGA Tour (Tiger Woods loose impediment ruling)
Everill, Ben. “The Loose-Impediment Ruling That Rocked the Golf World — and Still Does Today.” PGATour.com, 5 Feb. 2024, https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2024/02/05/the-loose-impediment-ruling-that-rocked-the-golf-world-and-still-does-today-tiger-woods-phoenix-open.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/break80/2025/12/08/rory-mcilroy-adds-to-golfs-weirdest-lies-list/
