Rory McIlroy still salty about driver, says he's settled on new TaylorMade for 2025 U.S. Open

USA Today

2 days ago

Rory McIlroy still salty about driver, says he's settled on new TaylorMade for 2025 U.S. Open
PITTSBURGH – Rory McIlroy knew he was going to be asked about his driver struggles since his TaylorMade Qi10 failed a random test ahead of the 2025 PGA Championship and he still wasn't in much of a talking mood on the topic.
After missing the cut at the RBC Canadian Open last week, McIlroy confirmed he has moved on from the TaylorMade Qi35 that let him down north of the border.
'Every driver sort of has its own character and you're trying to manage the misses,' he said during his Tuesday press conference. 'I'm in a better place with everything going into this week.'
He noted that he spent a lot of time over the weekend at home testing drivers. Asked what he learned, he said, 'I learned that I wasn't using the right driver.'
But he balked at sharing much more. Has he settled on a driver for this week?
'Yes,' he replied.
Asked what driver he'd be using, he said, 'TaylorMade.'
What model? 'I mean, come out and watch me hit balls, and you'll see,' he barked as if it were some state secret he was protecting.
Asked if having to switch models prior to the PGA Championship had contributed to his poor performance at Quail Hollow, where he finished T-47, he said of champion Scottie Scheffler, whose driver also was deemed non-conforming ahead of the PGA, 'It wasn't a big deal for Scottie, so it shouldn't have been a big deal for me.'
McIlroy knows that the driver is going to be critical for his success this week. The last two winners of the U.S. Open at Oakmont in 2007 and 2016 – Angel Cabrera and Dustin Johnson respectively – he noted, both led the field in driving distance. Justin Thomas, speaking in his pre-championship press conference, suggested that McIlroy of all players in the 156-man field, should send it as often as he can.
'He hits it further and straighter than maybe anybody that's played the game. It's hard to argue why he wouldn't hit driver as often as he could,' Thomas said.
McIlroy missed the cut at the last U.S. Open in 2016 and said he erased it from his memory bank. He went back and watched the TV coverage of Johnson's victory and how the leaders picked apart the course. What did he learn?
'You want to combine distance with accuracy this week. That's the recipe,' he said.
McIlroy's chances at Oakmont likely will hinge on whether he has found a driver that he feels comfortable with — it appears he has returned to the Qi10. Earlier this year, McIlroy won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with that model but switched to the Qi35 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
When it didn't work for him, he had his Qi10 delivered for the final round via Uber to the tune of $1,000 including a fat tip. He said he would stick with it through the Masters. The week of the Players? He won with it and did the same at the Masters. But now he's searching and while he still doesn't want to talk about the club, how he plays with it this week will speak volumes in his quest to win a second U.S. Open, second major of the season and sixth career major title.