RORY MCILROY caused controversy at the PGA Tour with a shot that sparked debate amongst fans.<br /><br />The golfer was competing on the first day of the Valero Texas Open.<br /><br />He finished the day four under par but some fans believe he should have been penalised for one of his putts.<br /><br />That is because they claim McIlrory waited longer than ten seconds to take a shot after his putt had left the ball hanging on the edge of the hole.<br /><br />The world number two hesitated to see if his ball would drop in without needing another touch, which it did.<br /><br />One fan suggested McIlrory ought to be penalised, saying: "This should be a penalty stroke on Rory McIlroy. 10 second clock clearly expired. PGA TOUR would never penalize their golden boy ⛳️"<br /><br />Another added in agreement: "It’s cheating. We all know, he saw the shadow between the ball and cup and that made it possible."<br /><br />And a third wrote: "Absolutely illegal, but the Tour won't do anything."<br /><br />But the rules actually offer a little leeway for players who wait to see if their overhanging ball will drop into the hole.<br /><br />Players are allowed a reasonable time to reach their ball and then an additional ten seconds on top of that.<br /><br />And given the ball took around 14 seconds to fall once it stopped moving, it was ruled McIlroy had not broken any rules.<br /><br />If he had the Northern Irishman would have had one penalty stroke added to his score.<br /><br />One fan believed McIlroy was not at fault, saying: "The 10-second timer starts after a “reasonable” amount of time to reach the hole. Assuming it took Rory one second to reach the hole after stopping, it took less than 10 seconds for the ball to fall."<br /><br />Another added: "I can’t wait for all the rules experts to chime in here."
