Rory McIlroy in hilarious club malfunction that has 'never been seen' before

McIlroy saw the head of his club fly down the fairway following the direction of his ball.

Rory McIlroy suffered a wild club malfunction as the head of his club flew down the fairway alongside his golf ball.

Teeing it up at the BMW PGA Championship this week, McIlroy got off to a fast start in sunny conditions in England.

But disaster struck for the Holywood man midway through his round after the head of his iron came off his club at impact.

READ MORE: Rory McIlroy insists he is ready to move on quickly from Irish Open heartbreak as he tees it up at Wentworth

READ MORE: Justin Rose has his say on Ian Poulter being Europe's next Ryder Cup captain

Such was the force and velocity of McIlroy's swing, the head of the club carried down the fairway in the same direction of the ball.

Remarkably McIlroy's 178-yard approach finished feet from the hole and made a comfortable two-putt to climb to the top of the leaderboard.

And playing partner Ryan Fox remarked he'd never seen that happen in person before.

The Northern Ireland man certainly did not make things boring throughout his round and was forced to putt with the back of his putter as he was so close to the water.

The four-time major winner seemed to have got over his Irish Open heartbreak quickly to race to the top of the leaderboard and started his round off four birdies in a row from the third to sixth holes.

“I’m glad for the opportunity to get back on the horse again,” McIlroy said at Wentworth, where he won the title in 2014.

“I think there may be a misconception that it hit me harder than it maybe did. You know, I didn’t really feel like I necessarily lost the tournament. I felt like Rasmus went out and won it – shot 31 on the back nine.

“So yeah, I shouldn’t have missed the green right on 15 and I misjudged the first putt on 17. But looking back on Sunday and the support of the crowds and that scene on 18 and everything, it was amazing to be a part of.

“Obviously just trying to look for the positives in all of it but happy to be here at Wentworth, the sun is shining, there’s not many better places to be.

“My game is feeling like it’s in pretty good shape and I feel like I have another chance to win a really big tournament that means a lot to me."

Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.