Rory McIlroy gets food poisoning from a club sandwich, regrets not going for the baked eel

Northern Irishman missed the WGC-HSBC Champions pro-am, but was able to tee-off this morning when the tournament got under way

Rory McIlroy (GETTY IMAGES)

Golfer Rory McIlroy was hit with a spate of food poisoning this week after eating the aptly named club sandwich.

The Northern Irishman was unable to take part in the pro-am prior to the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament and also missed some promotional activity.

The world number three posted a message on Twitter revealing the culprit of his illness, a sandwich filled with grilled chicken breast, tomato, fried egg and lettuce.

McIlory joked that he should have gone for the option underneath it on the menu instead, the Japanese baked eel.

Thankfully for McIlroy, we was well enough to tee-off at the WGC-HSBC Champions event earlier today, although he didn't have the best start in Shanghai, ending with a 68, five shots off the lead after the first round.