Report: Rory McIlroy Forced Into Driver Change Prior To PGA Championship

McIlroy's driver, reportedly, was deemed non-conforming by the USGA on Tuesday, with the five-time Major winner forced into a change prior to his first round

Rory McIlroy hits a driver off the tee
(Image credit: Getty Images)
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According to @SiriusXMPGATOUR's Jason Sobel, Rory McIlroy was forced into a late driver change prior to the PGA Championship's first round on Thursday.

In a tweet, Sobel wrote: "Rory McIlroy’s “gamer” driver was deemed non-conforming by the USGA on Tuesday. He switched drivers prior to yesterday’s opening round."

As of writing, it's unclear as to why the 36-year-old's driver was non-conforming, but some reports have claimed the club failed a CT (characteristic time) test, whereby it measures the spring-like effect of a club face.

The test works via a small, pendulum device that strikes the clubface with a metal ball and, currently, there has been no official announcement by either the PGA or USGA as to why the driver failed the test.

Rory McIlroy watches his tee shot

(Image credit: Getty Images)

McIlroy's driver of choice is the TaylorMade Qi10 and, at the PGA Championship, it hasn't been behaving as well as we are used to seeing.

For example, McIlroy hit just four of 14 fairways on Thursday, with the recent Masters winner ranking 85th in terms of Strokes Gained: Off The Tee and 41st in Driving Distance.

On Friday, those stats did improve, but weren't anywhere near the levels we are used to seeing from McIlroy, who battled back valiantly to get inside the cutline at Quail Hollow.

Matt Cradock
Matt Cradock
Staff Writer

Matt joined Golf Monthly in February 2021 covering weekend news, before also transitioning to equipment and testing. After freelancing for Golf Monthly and The PGA for 18 months, he was offered a full-time position at the company in October 2022 and continues to cover news and social media.

Taking up the game when he was just seven years of age, Matt made it into his county squad just a year later and continues to play the game at a high standard, with a handicap of around 2-4. To date, his best round came in 2016, where he shot a six-under-par 66 having been seven-under through nine holes. His favorite player is Rory McIlroy, despite nearly being struck by his second shot at the 17th during the 2015 BMW PGA Championship.

Matt’s current What’s In The Bag?

Driver: Honma TW747, 8.75°

Fairway Wood: Ping G430 LST 15°, 19°

Irons: TaylorMade P.7CB

Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 Tour Satin, 50°, 56°, 60°

Putter: Cleveland TFI 2135 Satin Cero

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

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