Rory McIlroy swears at fan in furious four-word response to being heckled at Genesis Invitational

Rory McIlroy furiously told a fan to ‘shut the f*** up’ after he was heckled in San Diego on Sunday.

The Northern Irishman missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the third hole of the final round at the Genesis Invitational.

It was the start of a frustrating day for McIlroy, who eventually finished nine strokes behind winner Ludvig Aberg after a final round of 72.

After missing the putt, a fan could be heard shouting: ‘Blame your caddie’.

To which McIlroy instantly responded: ‘Shut the f*** up’.

McIlroy’s caddie and best friend, Harry Diamond, drew criticism towards the end of last season amid a downturn in form.

McIlroy fumbled the chance to end his 10-year major championship drought in June after a disastrous collapse at the US Open.

The Northern Irishman also struggled at the BMW Championship in Colorado, where he threw one of his clubs into the water and even snapped his driver in half amid frustration over his form.

After McIlroy crumbled in astonishing fashion at the US Open, Diamond drew criticism over their choice of club on the 15th hole of the final round.

Hank Haney – who previously worked with Tiger Woods for six years – said that caddies being friends with golfers only works if the caddie is assertive.

McIlroy hit back at his comments by saying: ‘Hank Haney has never been in that position.

‘Just because Harry is not as vocal or loud with his words as other caddies, it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t say anything and that he doesn’t do anything.

‘I just wish that, you know, these guys that criticize when things don’t go my way, they never say anything good when things do go my way.’

He also added: ‘Someone said to me once, if you would never take advice from these people, you would never take their criticisms, either. Certainly wouldn’t go to Hank Haney for advice.’