Rory McIlroy had ‘weird’ object thrown at him that led to fan’s stunning ejection at Wells Fargo Championship

Rory McIlroy has pretty much seen it all in the world of golf.

But the four-time major winner had never seen this before.

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In 2016, McIlroy was on the rise and had already won the Wells Fargo Championship the year before.

While playing at Quail Hollow in 2016, McIlroy was paired with Rickie Fowler.

McIlroy was ranked No. 3 in the world at the time.

With his eyes on another Wells Fargo victory and reaching the top of the leaderboard, the Northern Irish star teeed off at the par-3 sixth hole.

Then things got really weird.

A golf ball was thrown near the tee box.

And the golf ball… had an earplug attached.

It was a surreal and completely unexpected golf moment that McIlroy later struggled to put into words.

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“It was a little weird,” he said. “This has never really happened to me before.”

Fowler, who was known for his very colorful outfits, was also blown away when he saw a golf ball being thrown onto the course – and on the ball was something “weird” attached.

“So random,” Fowler said. “The guy tried to say it was a gift. I don’t know why you would give a golf ball with an earplug attached as a gift.”

As a professional, McIlroy then did the only reasonable thing that could be done.

He pointed out the ventilator “earplug” to the course leaders.

The fan was quickly removed and ejected from the course.

McIlroy, 35, has 25 PGA Tour victories and more than $83 million in career earnings.

He is a three-time FedEx Cup champion and previously won the Wells Fargo Championship in 2021 and 2015.

He will attempt to win his fourth Wells Fargo Championship this week before next week’s US PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.