While Rory McIlroy was far from perfect during his victory at the Players Championship, many fans will be extremely excited for the Masters after seeing the Northern Irishman do enough to win at TPC Sawgrass.
Rory McIlroy‘s second victory at the Players Championship will probably not be remembered as one of the all-time great displays from the 35-year-old. Ultimately, he came agonisingly close to losing out in 72 holes, with J.J. Spaun leaving his crucial birdie putt on the last in the jaws of the hole.
But what McIlroy appears to have found at the start of 2025 is a formula. He also won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this year. So if enough pieces fall into place, McIlroy is almost certainly going to be a contender when he gets to the Masters next month.
McIlroy had to change something up. Clearly, talent was not the reason that he had not won a fifth major in his career. And it seems that McIlroy has added shots to his game, while he is prepared to be more flexible in his setup.
The club Rory McIlroy hit at the Players Championship which left Smylie Kaufman
Speaking on The Smylie Show about the decision to add a driving iron to his bag, Smylie Kaufman suggested that he was amazed by how McIlroy was using the club over the second-half of the tournament.
“He changed in the middle of the week, so on Saturday when the winds came up, he decided to put that really strong three iron, two iron into his golf bag, took the five wood out to be able to hit shots off the tee. I think it was a really key club for him over the weekend,” he said.
“He was a little off with it at times, but there were plenty of times where he executed the shot and found fairways. It’s not like he was putting it in the fairway every single time with it, but when he did, it was such a weapon, man. How he hit this club is unlike anything I’ve ever really seen when he hit it good. I’m telling you, the trajectory it came off and how hard it was hit, I just don’t see any other players being able to do it quite like he can hit the golf ball. It’s incredible to me what he’s able to do at the top of the bag.”
The two-iron shot Rory McIlroy hit which has been commemorated with a plaque
Perhaps no-one should have been surprised that McIlroy was able to use his driving iron so impressively over the week. It is at the top end of the bag where McIlroy is so outstanding.
And one of the most famous shots of McIlroy’s recent career came with a two iron.
When fans are asked to remember McIlroy’s victory at the 2023 Scottish Open, there is perhaps one shot which will come to mind before any other – and that was his miraculous approach on 18 at The Renaissance Club.
The shot set up McIlroy’s victory, and he would suggest after that he could not have dreamed of hitting the ball any better.
“I was right between 4-iron and 2-iron. I took 3-iron out at the start of the week, and it probably was a perfect 3-iron. But 4-iron was only getting to the front edge of the green. 2-iron, had to cut it and try to get it up into the wind a little bit and I just hit this 2-iron and it came off absolutely perfectly. Probably the best shot I hit all year. It was exactly the way I wanted to play it,” he said.
“When you hit a shot like that, I felt like I deserved to hole that putt to finish it off.”
McIlroy’s shot would be commemorated with a plaque from the spot in which he hit the approach. So, following his latest win, it would be no surprise to see him have a few options available to him at Augusta National next month.
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