Whether you’re a Mario Kart driver or the O’Doyles in Billy Madison, you’ve learned the hard way: banana peels are bad news.
But they’re not often an obstacle in professional golf.
So when Rory McIlroy’s ball settled in a tuft of high grass during Saturday’s third round in the Australian Open at the vaunted, delightful Royal Melbourne, it seemed particularly unfair that his ball had also settled inside a banana peel.
“I know, it was sort of a double-whammy,” McIlroy said in his post-round interview. “It was in that little tuft of long grass and then the banana-skin over it, but I shouldn’t have been there in the first place, it was a terrible tee shot.”
The peel problem raised an interesting question: Why couldn’t McIlroy take relief?
He was asked about the possibility post-round and said he hadn’t even bothered to call for a rules official.
“No, because I assumed I wouldn’t,” McIlroy said. “The banana, it’s a loose impediment and it was rested on the ball. So if I moved the banana peel the ball would’ve moved. I just didn’t even try.”
