Whether Rory McIlroy actually did anything wrong explained after his driver was deemed non-conforming by the USGA

Add as preferred source on Google

Rory McIlroy battled back on Friday at The PGA Championship with a solid round of two-under-par 69.

McIlroy made a lacklustre start to The PGA Championship on Thursday when he posted a round of three-over-par 74.

The Northern Irishman is looking to win back-to-back majors for the second time in his career, after he won The Open and The PGA back in 2014.

McIlroy’s 2025 PGA Championship got off to the worst possible start when his driver was deemed to be non-conforming by the USGA.

And he has proceeded to hit just 10 fairways during the first two days.

The 35-year-old Masters champion is by no means out of this tournament, but he will probably need to shoot in the mid-60s in order to have a chance of winning on Sunday.

He’s more than capable of doing just that, as we all well know.

There are question marks hanging over McIlroy’s head regarding whether he actually still has the motivation to win big events anymore, after completing the career Grand Slam.

Rory McIlroy’s non-conforming driver situation explained

The golfing world was shocked when it emerged that McIlroy’s driver had been adjudged to be non-conforming.

It must have been a huge shock to the five-time major champion as well.

Beginning a major championship without the driver he had been using in practice would have been a real jolt to the system.

But was there anything he could have done to prevent it?

Johnson Wagner was speaking on SiriusXM PGA TOUR, and explained McIlroy’s situation in more detail.

Wagner said, “All right, so the USGA conducts these tests pretty much every week out here on professional golf, and they tested across all aspects of the face of the driver.

“Drivers fail all the time, every single week, somebody’s driver fails, it is by no fault of the player, they don’t know how to do it. It is a sophisticated testing system.

“And when you’re a player like Rory McIlroy that hits the ball as hard as he does, the face naturally thins out Taylor, even if you’re hitting the ball.

“But when you’re hitting it like Rory McIlroy with his speed, it thins out a little quicker, and it’s unfortunate that it happened the week of a major and that it maybe cost him a few shots yesterday, but he seems to have it figured out today.

“He did nothing wrong, no player that driver had test ever does anything wrong.

“This is something that happens week to week on the PGA Tour.“

So it seems like it was very much a case of simple bad luck for McIlroy.

Will Rory McIlroy dominate or underwhelm in the majors over the next decade?

The Northern Irishman has the opportunity to really kick on now and cement his place as one of the greatest golfers of all-time.

If he manages to win another five, he will be fourth on the list of most men’s majors won of all-time, whilst another seven would see him jump into third spot.

McIlroy may well not have the pressure on his shoulders now that he once did. However, he also might not be as committed and focused to win as he was before.

Only time will tell regarding where his mindset is actually at.

McIlroy is so talented, that his game will undoubtedly peak at the right time on at least a few more occasions before he hangs up his clubs.

And it would be hugely surprising if he fails to add at elast another two majors to his haul over the next decade or so.