After an underwhelming performance at the Masters Tournament last week, Rory McIlroy made a crucial modification to his golf bag upon returning to the PGA Tour for the RBC Heritage.
In his pursuit for a win during this week’s RBC Heritage at the Harbour Town Golf Links, Rory McIlroy has switched up his equipment. It marks the first change of its kind he’s made since beginning on the 2024 PGA Tour circuit.
Despite his repeated attempts to win the coveted green jacket and complete the Grand Slam, McIlroy struggled yet again at this year’s Masters. However, he wasted no time in returning to competition just a few days later as he aims for immediate redemption at Hilton Head.
Attempting to achieve this goal, he has switched out his Qi10 3-wood for TaylorMade’s latest addition: the BRNR Mini Driver Copper with a 13.5-degree angle.
Initially, the Northern Irishman experimented with using a mini driver during his trial at Valero Texas Open earlier this month. However, he decided to stick with his 3-wood for the journey to Augusta. In this current attempt though, McIlroy has chosen to incorporate the new club into his bag as he endeavors towards clinching PGA Tour event number twenty-five.
McIlroy began his tournament with a four-under-par 68 in the opening round on Thursday, aided by a switch of clubs, which proved beneficial. He got off to an ideal start as he made a birdie-three at the first hole. This enabled the four-time major winner to commence the week strongly.
At the par-five fifth hole, European star McIlroy’s fortunes continued to improve with three pars preceding a remarkable play. Despite landing in the green-side bunker after two strokes, he exhibited his prowess in sand shots by chipping for an eagle and elevating himself to three-under-par. However, at the 12th hole – which was a par-four- McIlroy made unwelcome advances as he received a frustrating bogey five on that rung of play.
However, he quickly made a comeback and ended the game strongly by scoring birdies at holes 17 and 18. This resulted in him tying for the tenth position, with J.T. Poston leading four shots ahead of him. McIlroy expressed his satisfaction about his impressive finish after the round saying: “Scoring those last two birdies was terrific! I played well on both occasions to hit it close; finishing off with three strokes felt great.”
“I had a good start and managed my game well in the middle despite not having it. The finish was nice, and I feel confident about my chances to do well tomorrow morning. Although there were opportunities for bogeys around the turn, I avoided them.”
“I executed some impressive up-and-downs. Overall, I’m feeling quite content with how the day went,” remarked the athlete. Despite dealing with challenging weather conditions, he only resorted to using his mini-driver thrice and anticipates employing it more frequently in upcoming rounds. “To my recollection, I believe I utilized it on just three occasions,” he noted.
Due to the wind blowing from the south, I was able to avoid hitting it on certain holes where I struggled during practice. For some of those challenging holes, instead of my usual driver or iron off the tee, I used a 5-wood for better control. On other occasions when facing strong headwinds during practice rounds, after using a mini club initially, switching back up to my driver proved useful in navigating through such conditions effectively.
Using different clubs out there is always advantageous and indispensable as they all have unique strengths that come into play at various moments throughout any game. The versatility offered by these golfing tools cannot be overstated – It’s an incredible feeling knowing you can rely on them whenever necessary no matter how erratic things may seem over time.
As we progress further along with this tournament journey ahead of us now; one thing remains abundantly clear: That diversity truly does bring its own rewards!