Rory McIlroy shall be among the many favourites on the US Open subsequent week – and the Northern Irishman is utilizing the Canadian Open to trial a brand new membership forward of driving at Oakmont
Rory McIlroy has made the choice to vary his driver within the run-up to the US Open. McIlroy is presently competing on the Canadian Open and is utilizing the event to check out a unique membership forward of the US Open at Oakmont Nation Membership subsequent week.
The Northern Irishman has endured a tough spell together with his driver of late, after his earlier membership failed an inspection earlier than final month’s US PGA Championship. His driver was taken off him two days earlier than the event after testing confirmed it had change into extra springy than allowed.
He later admitted he was “p***ed off” the information of the failure had leaked into the media – and McIlroy is now having to make adjustments in response. He has swapped the TaylorMade Qi10 driver, which he used to win the Masters in April, for the model’s newer Qi35 mannequin.
McIlroy tried it out at Oakmont final week earlier than giving it its first official check on the RBC Canadian Open at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, the place he hit an opening-round 1-over spherical of 71.
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“It was my first outing with a brand new driver, and I felt like that went fairly properly,” he mentioned after hitting 9 of 14 fairways. “I hit some drives that I preferred and that I preferred to see, in order that was encouraging.
“It’s arduous with the driving force – the one I had been enjoying with beforehand, once I missed it, I used to be just a little bit left. Then my miss with this one is just a little bit proper. It’s simply attempting to determine that out and handle it just a little bit. It’s a pleasant feeling to rise up the center of the green and totally launch it and comprehend it’s not going to go left on you.”
The Qi35 isn’t too totally different from McIlroy’s previous Qi10, with the identical 9 levels of loft and the identical Fujikura Ventus Black shaft. Nonetheless, it’s barely shorter, which he hopes will give him extra management off the tee on the US Open, the place he triumphed in 2011.
It’s not totally new to him. McIlroy used the Qi35 on the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier within the season, however the change comes after his previous Qi10 failed a routine check earlier than the US PGA Championship.
McIlroy was irritated that the information – which is meant to remain confidential – was leaked and refused to talk to reporters on the event. “It was supposed to remain confidential,” he mentioned.
“Two members of the media had been those that leaked it. I didn’t need to rise up there and say one thing that I regretted, both, as a result of I’m attempting to guard Scottie [Scheffler].
“I’m attempting to guard TaylorMade. I’m attempting to guard the USGA, PGA of America, myself. I simply didn’t need to rise up there and say one thing that I regretted on the time.”
