Has Rory McIlroy been cursed by Nike?

Irish pro golfer Rory McIlroycould be the latest star to be affected by what people are calling the ‘Curse of the Nike.’

The 23-year-old champion golfer made headlines for the wrong reasons when he walked off the course midway through the second round of the Honda Classic on Friday.

After a rough start at the Honda Classic, McIlroy called it quits on the 18th hole (the ninth hole of his round) after hitting his 3rd ball into the water. The Co. Down man later blamed his lackluster performance on painful wisdom teeth.

The latest in a string of disappointing results for the Northern Irish golfer has led people to suggest he has been affected by ‘Curse of the Nike’ myth.

Since Rory signed a $250 million deal with the sports brand giant Nike in January, his performance has suffered. He has had a number of bad results, culminating in Friday’s bizarre withdrawal.

Other stars who have suffered from the ‘Nike Curse’ include Olympic Blade Runner Oscar Pistorius, disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods. The three sporting stars were stripped of their six figure Nike endorsements after a scandalous fall from grace.

According to CBS, Nike has $4 billion in endorsement contracts with athletes in many different sports.

Forbes senior editor Kurt Badenhausen says Nike is the victim of its own success. “Sticking by these big-name guys can potentially still be good for business," he said. "... Nike endorses so many athletes that if one of them does get in trouble, chances are, it's going to be a Nike guy.