McIlroy and the 'non-conforming' driver controversy

Rory McIlroy won the Masters at Augusta to complete the career Grand Slam Aside from the brilliance of Scottie Scheffler's imperious third major victory, the next-biggest talking point from the 107th US PGA was the controversy of Rory McIlroy's "non-conforming" driver. Rumours emerged early in the championship that the recently crowned Masters winner, who was continually struggling to find Quail Hollow's fairways, had been forced to switch drivers before the year's second major. Initially, there was speculation that the one he had used to such great effect in winning at Augusta had cracked on the eve of the tournament here in North Carolina. But then came a bombshell when PGA Tour Radio reported that the club had failed its test of legality. In response, a statement was issued on Saturday lunchtime during the third round from the PGA of America's chief championships officer Kerry Haigh. It confirmed testing for about a third of the players had been carried out by the United States Golf Association (USGA) "Finding driver heads that have crept over the line of conformance is not an unusual occurrence, especially for clubs that are hit thousands of times over a long period of time," Haigh said. "The results are kept confidential to protect players, who are unaware the club has fallen out of conformance," he added. "To publicly identify players whose club did not conform can lead to that player being questioned unnecessarily." So, there were no names, no actual confirmation of any drivers failing the test and, in this case, little clarity as to what might have happened regarding the world number two. Uncharacteristically, McIlroy ignored reporters after each of his rounds in an event where he only made the cut on the mark and finished three over par in a disappointing share of 47th place. Observers were left with a vacuum, which was filled in some quarters with ill-informed and damaging speculation that might have called into question the validity of McIlroy's Masters win. "The fact that it got leaked leads people that don't have all the information to draw conclusions that are not correct," commented DP World Tour player Oliver Wilson, who watched all four days in North Carolina while commentating for BBC Radio 5 Live. This video can not be played Watch: Rory McIlroy's driver issues explained by Golf Digest journalist and equipment expert Luke Kerr-Dineen Players, selected at random, subject their driver for testing before most big tournaments. As Haigh explained, repeated use of the club wears down its face which becomes more springy as a result. This trampoline effect, which can add distance to drives, is known as the coefficient of restitution (COR), and there are strict rules on this to ensure drivers do not become, in effect, supercharged. "It's just an accepted thing that sometimes you might have to change driver, and within the golfing world nobody really bats an eye at it," former Ryder Cup player Wilson added. But, because testing results are treated with such secrecy, McIlroy's situation gained traction as he toiled his way through his first major since winning the Masters. Then came rumours that Scheffler had also fallen foul of wearing down the face of his driver and had been forced to switch clubs before his triumphant week. The champion happily confirmed this during his winner's media conference. "My driver did fail me this week," said the 28-year-old after adding the PGA to his two Masters titles. "We had a feeling that it was going to be coming because I've used that driver for over a year. "I was kind of fortunate for it to last that long." While saying it "was no big deal", the American did call for the regulations to be tightened. "I would argue that if we're going to test the drivers, we need to be even more robust in the way we test them," he said. "That was a conversation I had with one of the rules officials - if it's something we're going to take seriously I feel like we're almost going halfway with it right now." Scheffler added: "It's a newer rule that we haven't quite gotten right yet. I think we have some stuff to figure out, get more robust and get even more strict. "You can test guys every week if you want. I mean, there's no reason why we shouldn't." The world number one is correct. Every player runs the risk of playing a club that is not legal yet only a third of the field are currently tested. No-one is intentionally cheating, character should not be called into question. As Haigh's statement pointed out: "Neither the USGA nor the PGA of America have any concerns about player intent." But, as we found out last week, if an adverse result is leaked - as was the case with McIlroy - controversy can ensue. It is thought about eight drivers were found to have breached the rules last week, yet only the 36-year-old's - and latterly Scheffler's - became public knowledge. This is the likely explanation for the Northern Irishman's reticence to speak with reporters in his first major since completing the career Grand Slam. That was his prerogative - no player is mandated to speak to the media but the end result here was that fans were not able to hear from one of the game's superstars, which is an unsatisfactory outcome. It is hard to fathom the need for such confidentiality. "I'm sure they have reasons," Wilson told BBC Sport. "But I don't think they're strong enough. "This has happened because they've tried to keep it so confidential. I feel like they may well, after this, look at how it's dealt with because it's just not fair to a player that has had it leaked and had to deal with this kind of nonsense."