Rory McIlroy has his green jacket, but he could not keep the good times rolling.
McIlroy earned his green jacket, the symbol of winning the Masters Tournament, at the 2025 Masters. He secured his first Masters victory and completed his career Grand Slam with a sudden-death playoff win over Justin Rose.
The reigning Masters champ had a rough week, making the cut on the number and not factoring on the weekend at all. Given McIlroy’s track record at Quail Hollow, it was incredibly unexpected.
McIlroy signed for a 1-over 72 Sunday at the PGA Championship to finish the tournament at 3-over.
Heading into the weekend, it was reported that McIlroy had to switch out his driver because his regular driver was deemed non-conforming to USGA standards.
In addition, McIlroy declined to speak to the media. Many speculated that he did so because of what happened with his driver ahead of the tournament.
The USGA found that Rory McIlroy’s driver was illegal ahead of the tournament and forced him to switch out the head.
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Apparently Rory skipped media (after being requested) for the fourth consecutive day at the PGA.
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterNS) May 18, 2025
I shouldn't need to caveat any of this given how positively and publicly I've written about him over the years, but in case I do, just take a look at the backlog.
More pertinently,…
It turns out that McIlroy was not the only player who had to switch out a driver.
“I think Scott is winning the tournament, and I think he switched to his backup, too,” Xander Schauffele said. “See, you don’t even know because he’s so good. We can deal with it because the (equipment) reps are so good now.”
Scottie Scheffler also had to switch out his driver head.
McIlroy hit just 26 of 56 fairways this week at Quail Hollow.
What Is Next For Rory McIlroy?
Rory McIlroy completed the Grand Slam in 2025 by winning the Masters at Augusta National and claiming the elusive fifth major.
Tiger Woods aside, few players have the same pulling power in the men’s professional game as McIlroy.
Aside from competing at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, Rory has also committed to the Canadian Open.
He might also play in the Australian Open at Royal Melbourne in December. McIlroy has since confirmed this, having previously hinted at wanting to play a more global schedule.
