Rory McIlroy signed for a 1-over 72 Sunday at the PGA Championship to finish the tournament at 3-over. He is currently tied 49th on the leaderboard, and for the fourth day in a row, the Northern Irishman did not speak with the media.
Many speculated that McIlroy refused to speak with the media because of what happened with his driver ahead of the tournament.
When news broke that his driver was deemed non-conforming by the USGA (United State Golf Association), he was forced to make a change. This is not uncommon, however, players’ names are normally not known as to who failed the test.
Somehow, the information of McIlroy leaked to the public, causing a lot of controversy at Quail Hollow.
Ahead of the tournament, the USGA found his driver illegal and forced him to switch out the head. However, it seems that McIlroy was not the only one who had to change equipment.
Adam Schupak of Golfweek got the scoop from Xander Schauffele Sunday afternoon. The reigning PGA Championship winner played with McIlroy for three days at Quail Hollow and explained that he was not the only player who had to switch out a driver.
“I think Scott is winning the tournament, and I think he switched to his backup, too,” Schauffele said. “See, you don’t even know because he’s so good. We can deal with it because the (equipment) reps are so good now.”
Apparently, Scottie Scheffler also had to switch out his driver head. Both he and McIlroy are TaylorMade athletes. The brand has not made a statement about the situation.
Schauffele also suggested testing all clubs to keep it fair.
“I think they should test everyone’s driver,” the two-time major winner said. “It’s not right to just test 50 guys. It just doesn’t make sense if you’re in it for the spirit (of the game). The whole point is to protect the integrity of the field. If you don’t test everyone across the board, I don’t think you’re protecting the whole field.”
His quote makes sense because why would the USGA not test everyone, especially ahead of a major championship?
Schauffele has experience with this testing because in 2019, his driver was deemed non-conforming at the Open Championship. The 2024 Champion Golfer of the Year also struggled to find comfortability that week.
McIlory hit just 26 of 56 fairways this week at Quail Hollow, which is not normal for him.
The USGA and PGA allegedly did not disclose the names of players who failed the test, as is their policy. However, on Saturday morning, the PGA of America made a statement about the controversy.
Regardless, at least Schauffele let the world know it was apparently not just McIlroy.
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