Rory McIlroy Makes Putter Tweak During FedEx St. Jude Championship
The four-time Major winner had already changed to a Scotty Cameron, before finding out the new putter was slightly longer than his standard TaylorMade Spider X
Despite not playing his best golf, Rory McIlroy finds himself inside the top 10 of the first FedEx Cup playoff event in Memphis, with the Northern Irishman firing a third round 68 to sit at nine-under and five shots back of leader, Lucas Glover.
Coming into the event, McIlroy was seen using a Scotty Cameron putter, which he had, in fact, put in his golf bag for the FedEx St. Jude Championship. However, after 36 holes, something wasn't feeling right and, after lining it up against his TaylorMade Spider X, it turned out the Scotty was slightly longer than the Spider...
"Like half an inch", responded McIlroy on Saturday when asked about the changes. "It's funny, I didn't really notice it in practice, and then once I got into competitive play, I always put my right hand on my putter first to go in and out. I just felt like where my right hand was at the top, it just felt a little too up. So I compared it to my Spider last night, it was like half an inch. It wasn't like a huge difference."
So, how did the four-time Major winner get over the fact that his putter was half-an-inch longer? Well, as all the Tour trucks had packed up and left the location, McIlroy simply asked his caddie, Harry Diamond, to get it cut down, with the Northern Irishman explaining: "Harry took it to a local golf shop and got it cut down last night for me."
He went on to add: "Harry took it to Edwin Watts, I guess, and got someone to do it. But then he got in touch with Paul from Scotty Cameron, and Paul was sort of like, it probably moved a swing weight or two, so just added a bit of weight to it this morning to try to balance it out. But felt better. There's weights in the bottom of the putter, so like tungsten weights. Just a couple of heavier ones."
The move to cut down the putter did indeed have some effect on his game. During round one, McIlroy had 28 putts, with the 34-year-old making another 28 putts on Friday.
With the putter cut down, he managed 25 putts on Saturday at TPC Southwind, three less than the previous two days, but McIlroy admitted that "I'm going to need to go out tomorrow and shoot something like Justin Rose shot this morning, like a 61, 62 to have a chance."
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However, in true McIlroy style, he has confidence in his game, with the Northern Irishman adding "I feel like you break it down, four-under a nine. I feel with the way I'm hitting it, the way I'm playing, it's doable. Not saying that that's what's going to happen, but it's not out of the realms of possibility."
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 weekend news and social media, as well as help look after Golf Monthly’s many buyers’ guides and equipment reviews.
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. He currently plays at Witney Lakes in Oxfordshire and his favourite 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: TaylorMade Rocketballz Stage 2, 15°, 19°
Hybrid: Adams Super Hybrid, 22°
Irons: Mizuno MP54, 5-PW
Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 Tour Satin, 50°, 56°, 60°
Putter: Cleveland TFI 2135 Satin Cero
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
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