Rory McIlroy has major ‘concerns' as new driver leads to shocking early exit from Canadian Open
Rory McIlroy added something big to his resume, but not in any desirable way.
On Friday at the RBC Canadian Open, the Masters champion suffered an early exit from the tournament after having his second-highest score to par in any PGA Tour round of his career, missing the cut by 12.
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He shot 8-over 78, and his biggest troubles came in a messy fifth hole with a concerning quadruple bogey 8.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his shot from the 18th tee during the second round of the RBC Canadian Open 2025 at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley on June 06, 2025 in Caledon, Ontario. Getty Images
It marked McIlroy's highest score since shooting another 78 in the first round of the British Open last year.
He had a double bogey on hole 11, along with four bogeys and two birdies.
He also had a double bogey on No. 11, four bogeys and two birdies on Friday.
It ranked as McIlroy's highest score in any non-major PGA Tour round.
'Of course it concerns me,' McIlroy said, per ESPN. 'You don't want to shoot high scores like the one I did today. Still, I felt like I came here obviously with a new driver thinking that that sort of was going to be good and solve some of the problems off the tee, but it didn't.'
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Friday marked the fifth time in McIlroy's career that he has carded an 8-over round, trailing only the 10-over 80 he shot in the opening round of the 2018 U.S. Open.
Rory McIlroy hit his approach shot from the rough on the fifth hole during the second round of the Canadian Open golf tournament in Caledon, Ontario, Friday, June 6, 2025. AP
Cameron Champ hits his tee shot at the 12th hole during the first round of the RBC Canadian Open golf tournament. Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
McIlroy, at 9-over, was 21 strokes behind Cameron Champ, who entered Saturday with a two-stroke lead in the final event ahead of the U.S. Open.
The reigning Masters champion isn't involved in weekend play in a non-major tour for the first time since the 2023 Players Championship.
'Obviously, going to Oakmont next week, what you need to do more than anything else there is hit fairways,' McIlroy said. 'Still sort of searching for the sort of missing piece off the tee.'
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McIlroy has previously won the Canadian Open twice — in 2019 and 2022.
Rory McIlroy said he had issues with his new driver. Getty Images
Champ was at 12 under and played the first 36 holes without a bogey.
'It's firmed up a little bit, but fairly similar to yesterday,' Champ said. 'The fairways I feel like were firming up a little bit. The greens slightly, but pretty close to how they were yesterday.'
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