Rory’s treat to fan hit by stray drive

Rory McIlroy made amends for the tee shot that struck teenage spectator Jason Blue on the head by putting the 16-year-old up in a Lytham hotel room last night.

McIlroy had seen his tee shot at Royal Lytham & St Anne’s 15th hole yesterday bounce out of bounds off Blue’s head.

The golf fan from Bristol suffered a cut to his head but was given prompt medical attention and was bandaged and sitting up by the time McIlroy reached him.

The Irish major champion signed one of his gloves for Blue, writing “Sorry” and drawing a sad face on the memento and after his round, learning that the teenager and his friend had been camping on their visit to The Open, arranged for them to stay in a hotel at his expense.

“The most important thing was that he was okay. Because I would have felt terrible if it had have been worse than what it was,” McIlroy said, though he added: “If he could have headed it the other way, it would have been in the fairway.”