“On the tee from Sedai, Japan, Hideki Mat-soo-moo-lah.” That’s how Hideki Matsuyama’s name was pronounced (or butchered) at the 2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The announcer, an elderly woman, laughed and apologized for mispronouncing the Masters champion’s name. Matsuyama, himself, took it like a good sport and chuckled. He wasn’t the first pro to fall victim to having his name botched, and neither was he the last. Rory McIlroy is the latest one and this time no first-tee announcer was involved.

Images circulating on social media show his caddie, Harry Diamond, was wearing a caddie bib that spells the Northern Irishman’s name as “MCLLROY.” In fact, images shared in an X post even show the leaderboard using “MCLLROY” instead of “MCILROY.” This isn’t an isolated event, though. In fact, this is the third time the same mistake has happened.

At the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, his caddie wore a bib that had the same spelling mistake. Eight years before that at Doral, spectators and McIlroy himself noticed the same mistake on Diamond’s bib. It was corrected after a few holes into the round and McIlroy himself joked about it.

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“I’ve been out here pretty much nine years, and they still can’t get my name right,” the Ulsterman joked. It’s not clear if he noticed the mistake this time around at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. But golfers’ names being butchered isn’t anything new, and from some of the horrible instances we’ve seen, McIlroy seems to be lucky that it was just a minor blunder.

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From Scottie Schoffler to Rickie Flower, the rip-roaring history mispronouncing names

It was East Lake last year, and Scottie Scheffler entered as the most dominant player on the planet. The first tee announcer did a good job of reminding everyone that. But probably, he didn’t get the memo that the name was Scheffler and not Schoffler.

Scheffler didn’t react at that time, but Todd Lewis of Golf Channel asked if he heard the ‘phonetically’ incorrect name. Scheffler chuckled and said yes. He also spilled interesting information: He has heard the pronunciation of his last name more than a few times on the PGA Tour. His fellow PGA Tour pros have heard worse.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout. That’s one name that gets mispronounced the most. The South African pro, at this point, has heard all the ways you can butcher that last name: Christian Besides-now-t, Christian Bay-zen-hoot, Christian Bez-i-den-aw. Then you have Jason Day.

What? You think you can’t get it wrong even if you want? Well, the former World No. 1 was called Jordan Day by a first-tee announcer. Rickie Fowler was obviously announced as Rickie Flower more than once. And Xander Schauffele?

He got so used to hearing his name botched, he stopped caring. From Show-flay to Schauple, he has heard it all. Matt Fitzpatrick was puzzled to be called Matt Fitzgerald at the 2024 RBC Heritage when being introduced as the defending champion. In fact, McIlroy himself had his fair share of mispronounced names.

At the Genesis Invitational, the Ulsterman was introduced as Rory McLory. Compared to that, having a caddie bib with M-C-L-L-R-O-Y seems better. Unfortunately, the misspelt last name wasn’t the only misfortune waiting for the Ulsterman at St. Jude.

Rory McIlroy is struggling at the FedEx St. Jude Championship

McIlroy returned to the event after skipping it last year. When asked about the decision, he explained that having four weeks off before the final two playoff events would be a little too long for him. He also saw the FedEx St. Jude as a chance to gauge where his game stood and get some practice in before the season finale.

“I think it’s important to be here. It’s the Tour’s playoffs, and I think it’s important for all the players to be here,” McIlroy said ahead of the 2026 FedEx St. Jude Championship.

However, all the enthusiasm might have faded after his six-over 216 after three rounds. Being paired with Scottie Scheffler, he carded an opening round of four-over 74. It featured two birdies, four bogeys, and a double bogey on the par-four 18th, which has been a troubling hole for him throughout.

He followed it with a round of even-par 70, with three birdies and an equal number of bogeys, including one on the 18th hole. In his third round, he again scored a double bogey on the 18th to finish two-over 72. Thus, his cumulative score across all three rounds now stands at six-over, and he currently ranks tied for 62nd.

This misspelled last name on the caddie bib just shows how challenging a time he is facing at the St. Jude Championship.

Fans couldn’t believe Rory McIlroy’s name was misspelled

Some fans focused on how easy the mistake appeared to fix. One joked, “Little bit of white tape required.” The comment captured the absurdity of seeing such a basic typo remain visible on the course. Using white tape would have removed the horizontal line from one of the Ls, which could have done the trick. However, it wasn’t just the bib, as some images showed the leaderboard using the same name. This led some fans to believe that it was not an error, but that the I appeared to be an L because of the font used.

Another fan took the joke further, writing, “Rory McLLroy is +3. Rory Daniel Mcilroy is not playing this week.” The gag appears to be very relatable. Rory McIlroy is not often associated with such scores. Fans have seen him consistently play below par rounds and win many tournaments. He has won 30 events on the PGA Tour so far, including two Masters. The comment lands well because it suggests that this is not the usual McIlroy but some other “MCLLROY” playing in Memphis.

Some fans pointed fingers at the person responsible for printing the bib and the management. “Bib guy, you had ONE job,” said one user, while another wrote, “Is this for real?”

These comments seemed understandable responses given the setting. The FedEx St. Jude Championship is the opening event of the FedExCup playoffs and carries a $20 million purse. Such a basic mistake at such a big event reflects carelessness. However, there’s no clarity yet on whether it was a genuine mistake or the font made the “I” appear to be an “L.”

Another reaction imagined how the error would sound in the most formal setting possible. “On the first tee, 2-time Masters Champion, Rory McLlroy,” the fan wrote. The joke worked because the first part of the introduction was entirely accurate. Pairing his prestigious achievement with the misspelled surname made the contrast more ridiculous.

For fans, then, the “MCLLROY” mistake became more than a simple typo. It provided an easy target for jokes and disbelief.