In an attempt to win his first tournament on the PGA Tour of 2024, Rory McIlroy has switched up his gear for this week’s RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links.
McIlroy had another difficult week at the Masters as his attempt to complete the Grand Slam and earn a green jacket was unsuccessful once again. Only a few days after his Augusta National excursion, he is back in action with the intention of recovering quickly at Hilton Head.
And to that end, he has replaced his Qi10 3-wood with TaylorMade’s new BRNR Mini Driver Copper 13.5-degree, adding a fresh look club to his bag.
The Northern Irishman chose to travel to Augusta with his 3-wood instead of continuing to sample the micro driver, as he had started doing at the Valero Texas Open earlier this month. However, McIlroy has chosen to make the adjustment this time, bringing the club along in his pursuit of victory in PGA Tour event No. 25.
Additionally, McIlroy’s club change on Thursday helped him start the week strongly. The four-time major winner began his tournament with a four-under-par 68. With a birdie-three at the first, the Northern Irishman’s opening round got off to the ideal start.
After three more pars, the European star’s situation improved even further at the par-five fifth hole. McIlroy demonstrated his prowess from the sand by chipping in for eagle to go to three-under-par after finding the green-side bunker in two. He made a painful bogey five at the par-four 12th, his first mistake of the day.
Rory McIlroy had a good week to begin.
But he quickly recovered, and with birdies at 17 and 18, he finished strong to tie for 10th place, four strokes behind the early leader J.T. Poston. McIlroy, pleased with his strong finish, remarked after the game, “It was great to birdie those last two holes.” I finished with a fantastic three, making two strong swings to get it in there close.
“Yeah, I had a decent start, controlled my game effectively in the middle when I lacked it, and had a terrific finish. I think I have a decent opportunity now to start the competition tomorrow morning. There was a turn there where I could have made a couple more bogeys, but I refrained.
Made a few decent peaks and valleys. Yes, I’m happy with the day overall.” Due to the weather, the 33-year-old only took the mini-driver out of the bag three times during his round, but he anticipates using it more in the days to come. “I actually think I only hit it three times,” he stated.
“I didn’t hit it today due of the way the wind was blowing from the south; on a few holes, I hit 5-wood off the tee in practice, and on a couple of other holes, I hit mini in the practice round and then hit driver since the wind was into those holes. But the club is excellent. It is adaptable. Over the following few days, I’m sure I’ll utilize it a lot.”
