Colin Sheridan: Rory McIlroy must keep focus inside the ropes

The U20s needs a time slot separate to all senior competition. It should be non-negotiable. Let that be the next issue President Jarlath Burns tackles and let him do it fast.

KEEP FOCUS: Rory McIlroy must keep focus after incident with Luke Potter at Sawgrass. Pic: AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

On Tuesday afternoon a 20-year-old college student called Luke Potter had his phone taken from him by none other than Rory McIlroy, after the Holywood golfer snap-hooked his drive into the water off the 18th tee at Sawgrass. Potter, perhaps enjoying his day on the course a little too much, saw fit to heckle McIlroy, reminding Rory of a similar shot he hit all of 14 years ago at the Masters. As burns go, it wasn’t exactly Don Rickles, but it was obviously enough to trigger something in the brain of the world's second-best golfer, causing him to temporarily lose his temper. 

Tuesday being a practice day, the errant drive was of no consequence to his card. The phone grab, however, was. Not so much for McIlroy in the immediate aftermath, but for poor Potter, who - as a student athlete at the University of Texas with an exceptional pedigree as a golfer - is not exactly a nobody. About an hour after the incident, his phone was returned to him, and he and his friends were escorted from the course.