19th Hole
‘Wish I could use my driver from last year’ – Rory McIlroy admits ‘user error’ after struggles at The Players
Rory McIlroy finished his first round of the 2023 Players Championship by recording his second worst opening round of his 13-year Sawgrass career.
The world number 3 started the event as joint-favourite alongside current rankings leader Jon Rahm but fell behind after a round comprising an opening double-bogey and four further bogeys, including at the 9th, his last hole of the day. Just two birdies offset the mistakes in a round of 76, four-over and 12 shots behind surprise leader Chad Ramey.
Whilst his stats for the round show large negative figures for his short-game, the Irishman spoke about recent issues with his driver, and the reasons he dumped his TaylorMade Stealth Plus in favour of a new Stealth 2 Plus and a new loft setting.
Consistently in the top two for ‘off-the-tee’ stats, the 2023 Dubai Desert Classic winner had found his figures worsening at the Pheonix Open (15th) before being outplayed off the tee-peg by 36 of his peers at Riviera, his worst ranking since the 2021 Irish Open.
McIlroy finished 3rd in the off-the-tee lists for 2021/2022 but currently ranks in 10th for this season so far – small margins, but crucial if you are looking only at the number one slot in the world.
Changing his driver mid-way through the Genesis Invitational, McIlory found some respite when runner-up at Bay Hill last weekend, but admitted today that he still has not got used to the new big stick.
“Look, I wish I could use my driver from last year, but I can’t just because of…you use a driver for so long, and it starts to get a little too….basically it just wouldn’t pass the test,” McIlroy told reporters.
“These driver heads are so finicky, it’s hard to get one exactly the same,” he said, before confirming, “I’m obviously trying my best, trying to get something that’s as close to what I had last year.”
Despite admitting he “just struggled a little bit off the tee the last couple weeks,” McIlory doesn’t put the blame entirely on one club.
“Yeah, there’s obviously a part of it that’s the user, as well. It’s quite a lot of user error in there, as well.”
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- Paige Spiranac to take on PGA Tour legend in celebrity challenge match this Summer
- ‘That’s what everybody wants me to do’ – Is Anthony Kim about to make a sensational return to pro golf?
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19th Hole
Golf fans are loving this awkward Bryson fan interaction video at latest LIV event
Over the weekend at LIV Golf London, Bryson DeChambeau continued his solid run of form, finishing in 13th place. Centurion Club had a respectable turnout of fans on site, with plenty following the big-hitting Dechambeau.
At one point, a fan reached out to fist bump the former U.S. Open champion but didn’t quite reach. The Crushers GC, of which Bryson captains, made a light-hearted post on Instagram with a video of the moment.
View this post on Instagram
“These fans edits are getting out of control… ?”
DeChambeau commented on the post, “just a couple inches short…”
The 29-year-old will tee it up next at the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool. He had success at the Open Championship hosted by St. Andrews last year, finishing in 8th place.
More from the 19th Hole
- ‘I’ve given up on him’ – Brooks Koepka accuses LIV teammate of being a quitter in scathing attack
- Major golf publication blasted for ‘insensitive’ Bryson DeChambeau post
- ‘Are you that dumb?’ – Dave Portnoy rips CBS over lack of live TV coverage of Rickie Fowler’s victory
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19th Hole
Content creator leaves golf fans triggered after showing how to make the perfect ‘John Daly’ cocktail
John Daly is one of the biggest names in golf despite not having played at very high level for quite some time due to injuries and health issues. Over the weekend, Daly found himself in some social media controversy once again, although it was no fault of his own.
A popular TikTok account, @cookingwith_darryl, mentioned a drink he called the “John Daly” in one of his videos. The food connoisseur has gotten very popular on the app by posting videos while cooking on his Blackstone grill.
“In my opinion there are two drinks synonymous with golf. You want to argue with me? Bring it! One is the Transfusion, the other is the John Daly. Let’s make the perfect John Daly.”
Darryl then went on to explain the ingredients: A chilled glass, vodka, and equal parts lemonade and iced tea.
@cookingwithdarryl Another classic drink for the golf course…The John Daly #drinks #golf #rukiddingme #rhoback ? original sound – dpostelnick
However, the TikTok users in the comment section were furious with the content creator, saying the drink he described was an “Arnold Palmer,” not a “John Daly.”
Darryl was sure to point out the very important distinction between the two: the “John Daly” contains vodka and “Arnold Palmer” does not.
More from the 19th Hole
- ‘I’ve given up on him’ – Brooks Koepka accuses LIV teammate of being a quitter in scathing attack
- Major golf publication blasted for ‘insensitive’ Bryson DeChambeau post
- ‘Are you that dumb?’ – Dave Portnoy rips CBS over lack of live TV coverage of Rickie Fowler’s victory
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19th Hole
‘Heartbreaking’ – Matt Wolff responds after being blasted by LIV teammate Brooks Koepka
Yesterday, Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka publicly blasted his teammate Matthew Wolff in an interview with Sports Illustrated.
“I mean, when you quit on your round, you give up and stuff like that, that’s not competing,” said Koepka. “I’m not a big fan of that. You don’t work hard. It’s very tough. It’s very tough to have even like a team dynamic when you’ve got one guy that won’t work, one guy is not going to give any effort, he’s going to quit on the course, break clubs, gets down, bad body language, it’s very tough. I’ve basically given up on him—a lot of talent, but I mean the talent’s wasted.”
On Friday morning, Wolff issued his response to Koepka via Sports Illustrated.
The 24-year-old said it was “beyond disappointing” to read Koepka’s comments.
“I read the SI interview with our Captain Brooks Koepka and it was beyond disappointing to me. When I chose to join his Team in 2023, I did so with much optimism about my new home as part of Team Smash and equally as important the chance to be around and learn from a player of Brooks’s stature. Like everyone who has ever played the game at the highest level, I have had competitive moments in the past that I feel I have let myself down and even others in our new team environment. This has been quite difficult for me. My challenges on and off the golf course with my mental health has been well documented. I deal with those challenges every day.
“However, while my 2023 season has not been all I had hoped for to this point, I have made positive strides in managing my life and feel Ike my game is turning for the positive. To hear through the media that our team leader has given up on me is heartbreaking. It’s not what a team member looks to hear from its leader, and I think we all know these comments should have been handled much differently. But I’m moving forward and won’t ever give up on myself. While on course results may not appear now to be positive indicators, I’m trying to win an even BIGGER game with my life.
“Finally, I trust Brooks wants what is best for our team. But it’s hard to imagine his comments in his recent SI interview in any way line up with those priorities. This will be my last comment on this matter. I’m heading out today to the Centurion Club trying to help our team win this week. I appreciate everyone’s continued support and your respect for my privacy.”
Both Koepka and Wolff will be teeing it up at Centurion Club on Friday. Koepka will be playing with Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson, while Wolff will play alongside his fellow Smash GC teammates (minus the captain) Chase Koepka and Jason Kokrak.
More from the 19th Hole
- Report: 5-time PGA Tour winner blasted and called a cheat after taking part in scramble listed as 8.8 handicap
- LPGA star blocks fan account that follows her every shot on the course
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Whining
Mar 11, 2023 at 9:58 pm
Stop whining about the whining.
Tom K
Mar 11, 2023 at 11:51 am
In other words the latest TaylorMade drivers are garbage.
Richard Hanson
Mar 10, 2023 at 1:12 pm
Not a good advert for that make and model of driver. Could like the one used for demo or fitting and then order one that’s totally different according to Rory’s comment
Brandon
Mar 11, 2023 at 8:47 am
That’s one of the problems with fittings. Another is that amateurs aren’t consistent in their swing path. As a little experiment, I went to the 2 big box stores in my area on back to back days and got fit. As you might expect, I was fit into two different drivers.
KK
Mar 10, 2023 at 12:35 pm
Rors is a little punk hes never been the same after he didnt win the Masters way back
Ryan
Mar 9, 2023 at 9:59 pm
All this dude does is complain. Doesn’t matter what it is he just wants some attention. Wish he would woke up and win a major.
U
Mar 10, 2023 at 11:17 am
He’s done. He’s only good on courses where he could bomb and gouge, he’s not a finesse player having to hit low curving shots through things, he just quite literally hits bombs with every club and he needs those courses. He doesn’t know and doesn’t like to think around the course. He’ll never win another major. Others are way more hungry and they’re aren’t wasting their energy being a shill for the Tour
DaveJ
Mar 10, 2023 at 1:05 pm
It is a post round Q&A. Reporters ask him questions. He answers honestly. How is that complaining?
Oldlefty70
Mar 11, 2023 at 12:02 pm
Just whining….??
joe
Mar 10, 2023 at 2:16 pm
are you complaining?