Rory McIlroy’s $1,000 Uber explains driver damage amid PGA Championship controversy
Rory McIlroy is one of the best drivers of the golf ball of his generation, but has been wayward off the tee at the PGA Championship after being forced to change driver
Rory McIlroy has been grappling with issues related to his driver at the PGA Championship, and the last-minute equipment change shouldn’t be a shocker.
During McIlroy’s tumultuous second round on Friday, which saw him barely make the cut for the weekend – – it was . His original model was deemed non-conforming after being tested earlier in the week.
While the process is detailed here, there’s no suggestion of any intentional wrongdoing by McIlroy. The issue likely boils down to simple wear and tear. Armed with a new club, McIlroy has had a rough time off the tee. He ranks T152nd in accuracy among the 156-man field, sheds light on why this might be.
In February, McIlroy clinched victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The following week, at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he swapped his TaylorMade Qi10 driver and fairway woods for the brand’s newer Qi35 models.
After just three rounds with the new clubs, and trailing seven shots behind the leaders going into Sunday, McIlroy found himself missing his old Qi10 driver. So much so, he shelled out nearly $1000 for an Uber to have his original clubs hand-delivered from his home in Jupiter, Florida, to Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando.
When queried about the hefty Uber fare, McIlroy had quipped at the time: “No idea. Not my department”. However, his long-serving manager, Sean O’Flaherty, confirmed the ride cost a steep $665 with an additional $330 tip for good measure. McIlroy reunited with his trusty Qi10 for the final round, and although a comeback wasn’t in the cards, he bounced back to clinch The Players Championship the very next week.
Reflecting on his equipment choices, McIlroy shared, “Sort of going back to what I’m comfortable with,” acknowledging that he intended to keep that particular set of clubs through the Masters. “I tried new woods for the first three days, didn’t quite work out the way I wanted it to. So, yeah, I went back to my old stuff today.”
He also noted his previous performance metrics, saying, “I led Strokes Gained: Off the Tee in both Pebble and Torrey, so it was a really good idea to change,” with a hint of irony. “Then, [Saturday], I lost strokes off the tee, which is the first time I’ve done that in a long time. Yeah, just went back to what was familiar.”
At The Players, when probed once more about his club switch, McIlroy affectionately described his Qi10 as “love at first sight”. Considering the lengths he’s gone to in order to continue using it, it’s hardly surprising that misplacing it right before the year’s second major—presumably having to find a replacement from the Tour equipment truck—would take a toll on his performance as it evidently did.
McIlroy stated in March: “You’re always looking for a little edge, and for me it was like, OK, if I can find something that goes 300, that would be great, just for – not just for what’s coming – for a lot of golf courses we go to nowadays, it seems like fairways pinch in at like 310, 320 (yards), which is just awkward enough for me to hit driver.”
He continued: “But then if I hit 3-wood 285, 290, I feel like I’m not quite pushing it up there as far as I can. If I have to hit 7-iron into a green instead of 8-iron, I’ll deal with it,” he said. “Some years you vibe with a new piece of equipment a little easier.”
He added: “Like that Qi10 that I’m using that they brought out last year, it was like love at first sight. I was like, this thing is amazing. I think when you feel like that about a golf club, it’s very hard to change into something else. It ebbs and flows. Some years it’s easier than others.”