McIlroy's drive hits spectator in head

Published Jul. 19, 2012 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Rory McIlroy's errant drive struck a teenage spectator on the head in the first round at the British Open on Thursday, leading to the Northern Irishman making double-bogey.

McIlroy wasn't too shabby in the end, though. He rallied for birdies on two of the last three holes and finished three shots back with a 67.

His errant tee shot at the 15th struck a spectator in the back of the head, the ball ricocheting out of bounds behind a hamburger stand. He had to tee off again and took a double-bogey.

''If he could have headed it the other way, it would have been better,'' McIlroy quipped.

The 16-year-old fan, who was attending his first British Open, had his head bandaged up and appeared a bit woozy. Fortunately, he wasn't seriously injured. McIlroy came over to check on his condition and give him an autographed glove that said ''Sorry'' and included a smiley face.

''The most important thing was that he was OK,'' McIlroy said. ''I would have felt terrible if it was worse than it was.''