Rory McIlroy chips backwards into the water at The Northern Trust, capping rough third round

Former World No. 1 golfer Rory McIlroy went to make a routine chip on Saturday morning at TPC Boston.

The result, however, was anything but.

McIlroy chips backwards, into the water

McIlroy, after landing in the rough next to the green on the second hold at The Northern Trust — which marked the first of three FedExCup Playoffs events — went to pitch the ball up onto the green and set up a birdie putt on the par 5.

Yet the rough and slope where his ball was sitting got the best of him.

McIlroy’s ball went backwards — yes, behind him — and ended up landing in the water positioned just behind him.

McIlroy then had to head back to the other side of the water to drop his ball before finishing the hole. He eventually carded a triple bogey 8.

That error was just the first of many for McIlroy in the third round. He duffed a chip in the rough near the green on No. 6, and ended up tripling that hole too.

The 30-year-old, who carded a 4-over 40 on his front nine, ended up getting a stroke back on the back side to finish with a 3-over 74 on the day. He now sits at even par for the week but fell nearly to the bottom of the leaderboard. Only Patrick Rodgers, who sits 1-over, and Matt Jones, at 2-over, are worse among players who made the cut.

Though Saturday’s round — and perhaps the whole week — will be one to forget, McIlroy doesn’t have much to worry about.

He’s currently No. 8 in the FedExCup Standings, and has qualified for both next week’s BMW Championship and the season-ending Tour Championship in two weeks.

Still, the very relatable blunders aren’t going to be something he wants to carry over into the final two weeks of the year — especially with the U.S. Open looming in just three weeks.

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