Rory McIlroy was forced to change his driver shortly before the start of the PGA Championship after it was deemed to be ‘non-conforming’.
The reigning Masters champion made the cut on the number after an uncharacteristic couple of days at the second major of the year.
McIlroy leads the PGA Tour in strokes gained off the tee and ranks third in driving distance this seasonGettyDespite being a four-time champion at Quail Hollow, McIlroy shot 74 on day one and 69 on day two, finishing at +1 and nine shots adrift of leader Jhonattan Vegas going into the weekend.
His biggest problem came from what is usually considered his main strength – the driver.
McIlroy is currently tied for last in driving accuracy among the 74 players who made the cut, hitting just 10 fairways so far.
And now a possible explanation has emerged. According to a report from XM Sirius PGA Tour Radio, the Northern Irishman was told to take his first-choice driver out of the bag on Tuesday.
USGA officials carried out random testing to ensure players’ equipment fits strict eligibility criteria – and McIlroy’s TaylorMade Qi10 failed.
“That program is consistent with the same level of support that we provide to the PGA Tour as part of their regular program for driver testing,” the USGA said.
It has not been specified what the problem was – although ex-PGA Tour pro Johnson Wagner suggested McIlroy might have been the victim of some wear and tear.
He said: “The USGA conducts these tests pretty much every year out here. They test all aspects of the face, and drivers fail all the time. Every single week, someone’s driver fails.
“It is by no fault of the player, they don’t know how to do it, it is a sophisticated testing system. When you are a player like Rory McIlroy, who hits the ball as hard as he does, the face naturally thins out.”
McIlroy was forced to scrape into the weekend after two days of waywardness off the teeGettyReigning PGA champion Xander Schauffele has previously hit out at the process of random equipment testing after his driver was taken out of the bag shortly before the 2019 Open Championship.
“I would gladly give up my driver if it’s not conforming. But there’s still 130 other players in the field that potentially have a nonconforming driver as well,” Schauffele said at the time.
“Had a word with [the R&A], and hopefully they take my comments seriously and my concern just because it wasn’t my plan to show up Monday morning of a major or Tuesday—sorry, it was Tuesday evening where I was doing driver testing here. It’s not really what players want to be doing.
“What’s the fair thing to do? Just test the whole field. It’s plain and simple. When I talked to them, they didn’t really know how to… you can’t really answer that question. You test everyone, it’s simple as that.”
McIlroy’s back-up driver nearly cost him on Friday as a dramatic end to his second round nearly sent him packing.
McIlroy was fortunate his second shot was playable on the 18thGettyThe world no.2 hooked his drive at the difficult 18th and ended up saving bogey after getting a fortunate bounce off a hospitality tent.
However, McIlroy can take solace from his first victory at Quail Hollow, where he also made the cut on the number at +1 and entered the weekend nine shots behind leader Billy Mayfair.
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