Rory McIlroy’s PGA Championship controversy that forced quick change | Golf | Sport

Rory McIlroy will hope for a drama-free start to his PGA Championship campaign this week, unlike his experience at last year’s edition of the major. Prior to Scottie Scheffler triumphing at Quail Hollow Club, the Northern Irishman was looking to win a second consecutive major following his victory at the Masters the month before.

However, his preparations were disrupted just two days before the beginning of the event as his regular driver was deemed to be non-confirming, forcing the now six-time major champion to make a late change to his trusted clubs. Having to use a replacement driver, McIlroy wasn’t his usual self at the major, only managing a disappointing opening-round 74. He wasn’t able to find his groove, finishing joint-47th in North Carolina. McIlroy’s sanction was due to the worn-down carbon face of his club, which occurs when a driver has been frequently used.

Following testing, it was judged it had been producing high levels of a ‘Coefficient of Time’ (CT). The higher the CT, the faster the ball travels coming off the face, and with McIlroy’s status as one of the tour’s most powerful hitters, the life cycle of his clubs would be shorter than most.

The two-time Masters champion was said to be one of 10 players who were found to have non-conforming drivers. Amid the drama, he was backed by former PGA Tour star Johnson Wagner, who said McIlroy wasn’t at fault for the rules break.

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Speaking on PGA Championship Radio, the American said: “It’s unfortunate this has happened in the week of a major and might have cost him a few shots – but he has done nothing wrong at all.” Golf commentator Brandel Chamblee said normal wear and tear is responsible for the breach.

He explained: “It’s not an indictment of the equipment company or the player, it’s just a mere fact that they’re right up against the edge. They’ve only got so many hits in them, then they either crack or they get too thin.”

Kerry Haigh, Chief Championships of the PGA of America admitted in a statement at the time that discovering non-confirming drivers wasn’t an “unusual occurrence.” Following the controversy surrounding McIlroy, the full statement read: “We can confirm that the USGA was invited to do club testing at the PGA Championship, at the PGA of America’s request.

“That testing program is consistent with the same level of support that the USGA provides to the PGA Tour and other championships, as part of their regular programs for driver testing. The standard process is for about a third of the field to be randomly tested under the program. That was the case at Quail Hollow this week.

“Finding driver heads that have crept over the line of conformance is not an unusual occurrence, especially for clubs that are hit thousands of times over a long period of time. The results are kept confidential to protect players, who are unaware the club has fallen out of conformance and not responsible for it falling out of conformance other than hitting the club thousands of times.

“Players are simply asked to change heads if necessary, and all do without issue. To publicly identify players whose club did not conform can lead to that player being questioned unnecessarily. Neither the USGA nor the PGA of America have any concerns about player intent.”

A chaos-free tournament is seemingly hard to come by for McIlroy, who had to address concerns over a suspected injury last weekend. After being seen limping at the Truist Championship, he told reporters: “Yeah, I’ve got a blister on my pinky toe on my right foot. But it’s underneath my nail. So I can’t really get to it or so it’s a little sore, but I’ll be alright.”