Rory McIlroy handed 2-shot penalty at Abu Dhabi Championship - ESPN

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Rory McIlroy was handed a two-shot penalty after finishing his first round at the Abu Dhabi Championship on Thursday, with officials ruling he improved his lie on a hole where he shot double-bogey to spoil his card.

McIlroy's score of 6 at the par-4 12th hole turned into an even uglier 8 and left him posting a 2-under 70 to be eight shots off the lead, held by Francesco Laporta after his bogey-free round of 62.

In actions that have dented his bid to win a record-tying eighth seasonlong Race to Dubai title, McIlroy was seen pressing his club on grass behind his ball that had rolled back down the hill and into a divot after he duffed an attempted chip onto the green on No. 12.

«There's no intent. I play by the rules,» said McIlroy, who spent time in the scorer's hut after his round discussing the incident with officials. «I try to do everything that I can to never end up in these positions.»

McIlroy acknowledged video footage of the incident «doesn't look very good.»

«I'm just trying to get a feel for the lie,» he said. «The ball is in a sort of bottom of a sandy divot.

»I guess the technical term for the rule is if you press down on the piece [of grass]. I don't feel like I pressed down. But at the same time, I don't want the perception of, like, people thinking like I got away with something either. So I'm happy to take a 2-shot penalty and move on and move into tomorrow."

In a statement, the European tour pointed to Rule 8.1b(4), which «permits a player to ground their club lightly right in front of or behind the ball.»

«However, a player is not allowed to press the club on the ground,» the statement said. «Having reviewed the footage, McIlroy was unable to say whether he had pressed