Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, and Viktor Hovland paused their opening round of the Players Championship for nearly nine minutes to discuss whether McIlroy's tee shot on the par-4 7th pitched above the red penalty line before bouncing back into the water.

Based on TPC Sawgrass regulations, McIlroy would have been faced with about a 250-yard difference in drop spot had his ball been determined to not have crossed the line.

The riveting discussion between the PGA Tour stars was, thankfully, caught on microphone. Smartly, NBC's broadcast captured the full exchange, uninterrupted, while the commentators went silent.

“It bounced into the water but we were just trying to make sure that it was above the red line,” McIlroy yelled out to his playing partners.

“We don’t know for sure that it crossed the line,” replied a skeptical Hovland.

“I’m pretty comfortable I saw it above the red line,” insisted McIlroy.

Spieth then walked over to relay a message.

“Everyone that I’m hearing that had eyes on it, which again is not what matters, is saying they’re 100% certain it landed below the line.”

“Who are you talking about?” asked McIlroy.

“TV. They’re saying with their eyes, they didn’t see it on camera,” replied Spieth. “But again, it doesn’t mean anything.”

“We have radar coming in and offering opinion on 18,” Spieth soon continued. “I don’t mean to be a hypocrite, I’m just saying the media people back there on the tee are saying they were certain, that’s why I thought, hey, should we check so you don’t take a wrong drop?”

“I want to do the right thing,” stated McIlroy.

You can watch the full exchange below. (At one point, Hovland even uses the turtles at TPC Sawgrass as a reference point. Golf is weird.)

McIlroy ultimately took his drop just left of the fairway bunker, close to where he believed his ball landed. With 225 yards to go, McIlroy left his third shot short of the green and ended up carding a double-bogey.

“I think Jordan was just trying to make sure I was doing the right thing,” McIlroy said after. “I was pretty sure that my ball had crossed where I was dropping it. It's so hard, right, because there was no TV evidence. I was adamant. … If anything, I was being conservative with it. At the end of the day, we're all trying to protect ourselves, protect the field.”

It wasn't McIlroy's first questionable drop of the day. There was also a bit of confusion about McIlroy's awry tee shot on the par-4 18th, which also found the drink.

“18 was a pretty similar situation,” recounted McIlroy. “Again, adamant it crossed, it's just a matter of where it crosses. I think this golf course more than any other, it sort of produces those situation a little bit.

After taking his penalty drop, McIlroy still had 293 yards to the pin. He two-putted from 60 feet to save bogey.

“Again, I feel like I'm one of the most conscientious golfers out there, so if I feel like I've done something wrong, it'll play on my conscience for the rest of the tournament,” said McIlroy. “I'm a big believer in karma, and if you do something wrong, I feel like it's going to come around and bite you at some point.

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“I obviously don't try to do anything wrong out there, and play by the rules and do the right thing. I feel like I obviously did that with those two drops.”

Neither Spieth nor Hovland spoke to the media following their rounds. McIlroy said he thinks his playing partners are ultimately “comfortable” with how the situations were resolved.

McIlroy opened the 50th edition of the Players with six birdies on his first eight holes prior to his adventure on 18 (the group started on the back-nine). McIlroy and Xander Schauffele were tied atop the leaderboard at -7 when the morning session in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, wrapped.

Spieth carded a tw0-over 74, while Hovland shot a 73.

 

McIlroy, Spieth, and Hovland will begin their second round on the first tee at 1:40 p.m. ET on Friday.