Rory McIlroy stopped his round to toss a fan's remote-controlled golf ball into the water

• A fan sent a remote-control golf ball out onto the 15th green at the BMW Championship on Saturday.
• Rory McIlroy, who was playing the hole at the time, tossed the ball into a lake.

WILMINGTON, Delaware — Rory McIlroy's round on Saturday at the BMW Championship featured a rather surprising interruption.

At the par-3 No. 15, a fan somehow got a remote-controlled golf ball onto the green, and repeatedly made a run at sinking it in the hole.

While golf is not usually a sport that features defense, McIlroy jumped into action, keeping the ball out of the hole and eventually grabbing it and tossing it into the water, earning cheers from the crowd.

"He kept yelling at Rory, 'This is my dream, this is my dream,'" Scott Stallings, who was playing with McIlroy during the round, told USA Today. "I don't know exactly what he was dreaming about, but his ball is gone."

The fan was escorted away from the scene.

Stallings praised McIlroy for his handling of the situation.

"I thought it was great," Stallings said. "I was about to go and do the same thing."

McIlroy would par the hole, and finish his round one-under par to get to seven-under on the tournament. He finished the event tied for eighth and currently sits in seventh in the FedExCup Playoff standings.