Latest news with #Haigh
Daily Record
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Rory McIlroy is innocent victim in driver rule row and golf chiefs must rip off cloak of secrecy to protect stars
Transparency over non-conforming clubs would be real way to protect players Transparency. One single word that could have saved a million being written and spoken about the non-conforming Rory McIlroy driver. Reports that the Northern Irish superstar had to change the head on the biggest weapon in his bag prior to the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow created some talk. It became such a furore in some quarters due, quite simply, to a lack of understanding amongst those outside of the inner-golf circle, who know this happens every week. As Sky's Kira K. Dixon explained that to viewers on Saturday night when giving a detailed insight into the simplicity of the situations when she said: 'Rory's driver was deemed to be non-conforming. Now, what does non-conforming even mean? Well, week-in and week-out on the PGA Tour and at major championships, the governing bodies conduct tests on the equipment, where they might determine that, for example, a driver head no longer meets tournament standards. That could mean the face has gotten too thin or it's worn out too much and it's no longer fitting those standards, so it just needs to be switched out. It happens all of the time. About 10 players had non-conforming drivers this week and all had to make those changes. 'Now, in Rory's case, he plays the 2024 Qi10 from TaylorMade and he would have had plenty of replacement driver heads that match those exact specifications and the driver head would have just been placed on his existing shaft and he would go on to continue to play the golf tournament. There is no other implication regarding non-conforming when it comes to the driver and certainly no implications for him out on the golf course this week.' So there you go. Simple and nothing to get concerned with. So what's the secret? Why not just come out and say so when it happens? Kerry Haigh, Chief Championships Officer at the PGA of America, released a statement on Saturday which contained the line: 'The results are kept confidential to protect players.' To protect them from what? Haigh's words then said: 'To publicly identify players whose club did not conform can lead to that player being questioned unnecessarily.' Questioned about what? It's a regular thing, it's not a big deal, so why would anyone be asked about it? Haigh's sign-off line was: 'Neither the USGA nor the PGA of America have any concerns about player intent.' In that case, why keep it secret? The hush-hush doesn't feel like a job way of protecting players, does it? It's the secrecy that causes the questions. It happens. Clubs get bashed due to overuse. They drop to non-conforming standards simply by being hit too hard, too often. Players don't know if their driver face is a squillmetre too thin. Bryson DeChambeau' s driver head was damaged on the practice range just prior to the final round of last year's US Open. About 15 minutes before his tee time on that Sunday at Pinehurst. He just got a tool out, screwed a new one on and won the tournament over the next 18 holes. By not saying anything and keeping things under wraps, golf chiefs let the usual crew on social-media start sniping about McIlroy and coming out with rubbish about: Oh what if he used it at the Masters, etc? Nonsense, clearly. But words that didn't need to be typed and wouldn't have been had this info had just been made readily available to the general public at the time. Maybe club manufacturers don't want a list coming out on a Tuesday which names 15 of their clubs being the ones that failed when their rival companies didn't. Who knows, but saying nothing and news leaking out leads to talk that isn't justified and isn't needed. The data in golf now is almost absurd. Stats can probably tell you how many drinks of water Scottie Scheffler had in a round and go back to John Daly's PGA win and tell you how many puffs he had on cigarettes during round three. Xander Schauffele' s main gripe at the 2019 Open at Royal Portrush when his driver failed seemed to be that not every player's clubs were tested, just a percentage of the field. Again, why's that? Just do the tests on them all, make a list of who passed and who failed, put it out on an email or a press release and move on. It's that simple. By not doing so, it allows unnecessary and pointless narratives to be built and fingers to be pointed when they shouldn't be. Just a bit of transparency. The full statement from Chief Championships Officer Kerry Haigh 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.'
Boston Globe
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Rory McIlroy among some 50 players whose drivers were tested. PGA says it's standard procedure.
Kerry Haigh, chief championships officer for the PGA of America, confirmed the USGA was asked to test drivers at the PGA Championship. The USGA, which governs golf in the US and Mexico, regularly conducts tests on the PGA Tour when asked. Results are confidential. Haigh said the standard process is for one-third of the 156-man field to have driver tests and that was the case at Quail Hollow. '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.' Advertisement Rory. Scottie. Side by side. Who's swing is your favorite? Here are some quick insights into what makes their swings so powerful – in different ways. — PGA of America (@PGA) Drivers that exceed USGA limits, particularly when the face gets too thin and can cause a slight trampoline effect, need to be replaced. Haigh said players change 'without issue.' 'To publicly identify players whose club did not conform can lead to that player being questioned unnecessarily,' Haigh said, referring to why results are confidential. 'Neither the USGA nor the PGA of America have any concerns about player intent.' Advertisement Some companies tend to make the face as thin as possible, within limits, for greater distance. When constantly hit at swing speeds around 115 miles per hour, topping 120 m.p.h. for the power players, that can allow a club to become nonconforming, known as 'creep.' Research indicates a driver can start to creep after 5,000 swings, which is typically about four months depending on how much play or practice is involved. McIlroy drew extra attention because he was last among the 74 players who made the cut in driving accuracy, hitting only 10 fairways over 36 holes. He hit nine fairways on Saturday in his round of 72 and declined for the third straight day to speak to reporters. It was at least the second time that results of a random driver test have been reported. Xander Schauffele had to replace his driver at the 2019 British Open and he was furious with the R&A for not keeping the matter private.
New Straits Times
17-05-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
McIlroy forced to switch drivers after PGA test fail
CHARLOTTE: Rory McIlroy was forced to switch drivers at the PGA Championship after his regular driver was found to be non-conforming to rules in a test at Quail Hollow, according to a radio report. Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio reported that second-ranked McIlroy, who won the Masters last month to complete a career Grand Slam, had to make the change after US Golf Association (USGA) found Tuesday that his driver was non-compliant. McIlroy leads the PGA Tour in strokes gained through driving but was last in driving accuracy among 74 players who made the cut to play the weekend. He found only 10 fairways in the first two rounds. Test results on clubs are kept private. They involve the flexibility of the face of a driver. Drivers have been found to be conforming to the rules one week and fail a test the next due to general use of the club. McIlroy has declined to speak with reporters after each of the first two rounds at Quail Hollow, a course where he has won four times in PGA Tour events. Kerry Haigh, the PGA of America chief championships officer, would only confirm in a statement the USGA was asked to test clubs at the PGA. "We can confirm that the USGA was invited to do club testing at the PGA Championship, at the PGA of America's request," Haigh said. "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." Haigh said not every player has club's tested every week. "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," he said. "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." Haigh said players are generally asked to change club heads and said "all do without issue" while noting why results are kept confidential. "To publicly identify players whose club did not conform can lead to that player being questioned unnecessarily," Haigh said. "Neither the USGA nor the PGA of America have any concerns about player intent." - AFP
New Straits Times
17-05-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Scheffler, Rahm and Vegas share lead in PGA shootout
CHARLOTTE: Rory McIlroy was forced to switch drivers at the PGA Championship after his regular driver was found to be non-conforming to rules in a test at Quail Hollow, according to a radio report. Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio reported that second-ranked McIlroy, who won the Masters last month to complete a career Grand Slam, had to make the change after US Golf Association (USGA) found Tuesday that his driver was non-compliant. McIlroy leads the PGA Tour in strokes gained through driving but was last in driving accuracy among 74 players who made the cut to play the weekend. He found only 10 fairways in the first two rounds. Test results on clubs are kept private. They involve the flexibility of the face of a driver. Drivers have been found to be conforming to the rules one week and fail a test the next due to general use of the club. McIlroy has declined to speak with reporters after each of the first two rounds at Quail Hollow, a course where he has won four times in PGA Tour events. Kerry Haigh, the PGA of America chief championships officer, would only confirm in a statement the USGA was asked to test clubs at the PGA. "We can confirm that the USGA was invited to do club testing at the PGA Championship, at the PGA of America's request," Haigh said. "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." Haigh said not every player has club's tested every week. "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," he said. "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." Haigh said players are generally asked to change club heads and said "all do without issue" while noting why results are kept confidential. "To publicly identify players whose club did not conform can lead to that player being questioned unnecessarily," Haigh said.
Fox Sports
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Rory McIlroy among some 50 players whose drivers were tested. PGA says it's standard procedure
Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Rory McIlroy was part of roughly 50 players whose drivers were tested before the PGA Championship, which was described Saturday as a normal procedure designed to protect players who are not aware if their clubs have exceeded limits. McIlroy drew particular attention when Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio reported Friday afternoon that his driver was deemed nonconforming and the Masters champion could no longer use it at Quail Hollow. McIlroy has not spoken to the media the last two days. Kerry Haigh, chief championships officer for the PGA of America, confirmed the USGA was asked to test drivers at the PGA Championship. The USGA, which governs golf in the U.S. and Mexico, regularly conducts tests on the PGA Tour when asked. Results are confidential. Haigh said the standard process is for one-third of the 156-man field to have driver tests and that was the case at Quail Hollow. '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.' Drivers that exceed USGA limits, particularly when the face gets too thin and can cause a slight trampoline effect, need to be replaced. Haigh said players change 'without issue.' 'To publicly identify players whose club did not conform can lead to that player being questioned unnecessarily,' Haigh said, referring to why results are confidential. "Neither the USGA nor the PGA of America have any concerns about player intent.' Some companies tend to make the face as thin as possible, within limits, for greater distance. When constantly hit at swing speeds around 115 mph, topping 120 mph for the power players, that can allow a club to become nonconforming, known as 'creep." Research indicates a driver can start to creep after 5,000 swings, which is typically about four months depending on how much play or practice is involved. McIlroy drew extra attention because he was last among the 74 players who made the cut in driving accuracy, hitting only 10 fairways over 36 holes. It was at least the second time that results of a random driver test have been reported. Xander Schauffele had to replace his driver at the 2019 British Open and he was furious with the R&A for not keeping the matter private. ___ AP golf: recommended in this topic
