The Open 2016: Rory McIlroy needs six shots to get out of Postage Stamp bunker at Royal Troon

RORY McILROY sent out a warning to other Open stars at Royal Troon: don't mess with the Postage Stamp.

The Northern Irish golf star took SIX attempts to get the ball onto the green when stuck in a deep coffin bunker during practice on the eighth.

Not that it was an easy shot, mind.

The height difference between the sand and the hole is over six feet with the Ayrshire course.

His first two attempts hit the wall and then the next three squirted out of the bunker before rolling back in.

Other players will be watching the bunker with trepidation - if four-time Major winner McIlroy struggles on such a hole then the rest of the field are going to avoid falling foul to the same problems when play starts on Thursday.

Masters champion Danny Willett had a different practice experience. He and Colin Montgomerie spent an afternoon at Ibrox, trying to nail a hole-in-one.