CHARLOTTE — The PGA of America only indirectly addressed a report that Rory McIlroy’s driver was found to be non-conforming before this week’s PGA Championship.
SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio first reported on Friday that McIlroy had been forced to switch to a different driver, but the Masters champion has not spoken with the media since the event began. He was publicly silent again after Saturday’s third round, during which he shot a 1-over-par 72 that left him tied for 49th place.
PGA of America chief championships officer Kerry Haigh was hardly more illuminating on Saturday, confirming only that driver tests had been conducted on about one-third of the field pre-championship at Quail Hollow.
The U.S. Golf Association tests driver heads randomly at PGA Tour events and major championships to determine whether their spring-like effect is conforming.
Spring-like effect refers to the elasticity of the clubface that allows it to spring back upon impact with the ball, much like a trampoline.
A driver that conforms one week could be non-conforming the next due to minute changes in the clubface as a result of the wear and tear of hitting balls.
“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,” Haigh said in a statement.
“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.”
McIlroy, who plays with a TaylorMade driver, won the Masters in a playoff in April to become the sixth man to win the modern grand slam of all four majors — joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
But he has been out of sorts off the tee this week and languished 13 strokes behind leader Scottie Scheffler after Saturday’s third round.
Are his struggles related to the driver issue? Only he would know that.
–Andrew Both, Field Level Media
