Rory McIlroy switches to a replica of the two-time Grand Slam-winning putter just two weeks before the Masters… and has already given it a spin on the greens at Augusta as he prepares for a shot at the Grand Slam of his career!
Rory McIlroy has returned to the putter he used to win his first two Majors just two weeks before the Masters, according to a report.
With just two weeks to go before the first Major of the year goes into full force in Augusta, McIlroy seems to be putting in a lot of effort to up his game and increase his chances of snatching up his coveted green jacket and completing the Grand Slam of his career.
The Northern Irishman switched to a Studio Select Newport GSS Prototype replica, the putter he had in the bag for his 2011 US Open win at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda and his 2012 PGA Championship win on Kiawah Island, according to The Telegraph.
The 33-year-old has used a flat mallet-style stick made by TaylorMade, who pays him roughly $20 million per year to play his gear, for the past four years.
The one exception came at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, when he traded in a Scotty Cameron Phantom X 11.5 for the games before promptly returning to the TaylorMade Spider X Hyrdroblast.
Rory McIlroy is back in the putter he used to win the 2012 USPGA (pictured)
The 33-year-old made a replica (pictured) of the flat stick and will be using it this week.
McIlroy has been very successful with the club, returning to world No. 1 last year after one of his best seasons with the putter.
He finished 16th in the 2022 Tour putting rankings, but so far this year, McIlroy’s performance on the greens has taken a significant hit.
He is currently ranked 173rd on the charts, excluding his performance at the Dubai Desert Classic, where he performed well on the greens en route to victory.
His worst performance came two weeks ago on The Players, where McIlroy missed the cut for the first time in seven months.
The putter, along with the driver, let him down significantly, seeing him ranked 125th in ‘strokes gained’ calculations in the 144-man field.
It seems to have been the final nail in the coffin of the TaylorMade Spider X Hyrdroblast and McIlroy reportedly decided to purpose-build a replica of his old Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport GSS Prototype.
The reigning TOUR champion is said to have taken the replica for a spin on the greens at Augusta when he went on a scouting trip last week.
Prior to the $20 million WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play event in Austin, Texas, McIlroy was quoted by the Golf Channel as saying that he “loved playing the greens at Augusta National.”
His first two major wins came at the 2011 US Open (right) and the 2012 US PGSA (left)
He had had success with a TaylorMade mallet putter, but his putting suffered at The Players.
McIlroy played 36 holes at Augusta, reportedly needing only 19 putts in one of his rounds.
His coming-out game has also reportedly been back in good shape after a roller-coaster player tournament.
McIlroy had to ditch his driver at Sawgrass after switching to a copy of the one that brought him back to World No. 1 three weeks earlier after his trusted predecessor was in danger of defaulting due to the springiness of the stick face. by age.
But his driving stats in The Players ranked him 117th in the accuracy field, which was a raw killer for Sawgrass.
He then swapped it out once more, keeping the same driver head but fitting it with a Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 6x shaft that’s half an inch shorter than the old one.
McIlroy will have at least three rounds, possibly more if he makes it out of the group stage of the Match Play tournament, to test his new changes.
He will start his tournament against Scott Stallings, world number 62, before taking on Keegan Bradley and Denny McCarthy.
The winner of the round-robin bracket will advance to the knockout stages at the weekend, with the overall champion receiving $3.5 million.