Rory McIlroy forced to change ‘non-conforming driver’ at PGA Championship
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Rory McIlroy’s TaylorMade driver reportedly failed USGA checks at PGA Championship.
Rory McIlroy is a driving machine. His prowess off the tee with the big stick is the envy of his peers.
Asked during PGA Championship press conferences at the start of the week which player’s skillset they’d love to have if they could swap, several of the world’s best golfers said they’d take McIlroy’s driving ability over their own.
But, teeing it up in a major for the first time since completing the career Grand Slam at last month’s Masters, the Northern Irishman’s driving ability appeared to have deserted him as he hit just four of 14 fairways on his way to a three-over par 74 at Quail Hollow. That improved to six from 14 as he fired a two-under 69 to make the cut on the number on Friday, but he ranks outside the top 30 in strokes gained off the tee through 36 holes.
Those stats are even more surprising when you consider his exceptional record at Quail Hollow, where he’s won four times, including his maiden PGA Tour triumph in 2010.
While his poor driving display was initially attributed to difficult conditions and expectation following his latest major triumph, it now appears it could have been something more surprising.
According to a Sirius XM report during Friday’s second round, the 36-year-old’s TaylorMade Qi10 driver failed the USGA’s stringent checks on Tuesday.
The USGA, which, alongside the R&A, sets all of the rules and parameters around golf equipment, deemed the head of the club to be non-conforming, forcing the five-time major champion to switch his gamer head at the last minute.
McIlroy and World No.1 Scottie Scheffler are two of several TaylorMade staffers who have continued to game the 2024 driver model despite the brand releasing Qi35 at the start of this year. McIlroy has used the model for all three of his 2025 wins, including his victory at Augusta.
The USGA has confirmed that testing was done this week at the PGA of America’s request.
“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. Tests are conducted prior to the start of play,” a USGA spokesperson told Golfweek. “The results are always confidential, as part of regular protocols.”
The PGA of America, which runs the PGA Championship, and the USGA have both declined to comment on this specific situation, although the USGA did confirm that all testing results are confidential and that it’s up to the player affected if they wish to comment. McIlroy declined to speak to media after his round on Friday.
Television analyst and PGA Tour player Johnson Wagner said incidents such as this were commonplace at the highest level.
“The USGA conducts these tests pretty much every week out here on professional golf and they test it across all aspects of the face of the driver. Drivers fail all the time. Every single week, somebody’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,” he said on Sirius XM’s PGA Championship broadcast.
“When you’re a player like Rory McIlroy that hits the ball as hard as he does the face naturally thins out. It’s unfortunate it happened the week of a major and that it maybe cost him a few shots yesterday.
“He did nothing wrong. No player that [fails] driver head tests ever does anything wrong; this is something that happens week to week on the PGA Tour.”
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.
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Rory McIlroy was forced to make a last-minute driver change at the PGA Championship.
