Just because Tom Holland is the face of a blockbuster superhero franchise doesn’t mean everyone is privy to that knowledge.
That was the apparent takeaway Wednesday when Rory McIlroy came face-to-face with the “Spider-Man” actor, 28, at a pro-am before the BMW PGA Championship in England.
Holland approached the four-time major champion at the driving range and introduced himself, and McIlroy, 35, exchanged a brief pleasantry before turning his attention back to his golf bag.
The interaction went viral, with fans deducing that McIlroy has zero idea who Holland is.
“Rory definitely didn’t clock who it was,” one X user posted, along with a crying laughing face emoji.
“Rory didn’t have a clue,” a separate user posted.
One fan quipped that Holland should have introduced himself as his alter ego.
“Should have said Hi I’m Peter Parker,” the X user wrote.
Holland did share a heartfelt moment with another PGA Tour star as the day continued, greeting Tommy Fleetwood and his son, Frankie, who dressed as “Spider-Man” for the occasion.
As the trio conversed, Fleetwood, 33, joked that Holland is “kind of our third favorite” webbed wonder, appearing to reference past “Spider-Man” stars Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, who joined Holland in 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”
This week’s BMW PGA Championship has been full of viral moments for McIlroy, whose 8-iron head flew off after impact during Thursday’s opening round at Wentworth Club.
He is currently tied for third at 5-under par after completing the first round.
McIlroy, who fell painfully short of capturing his fifth major at the U.S. Open earlier this summer, finished second in last week’s Irish Open at eight-under-par.