“I’m not going to try to be his best mate out there,” Rory McIlroy said, shedding light on his dynamic with Bryson DeChambeau during the Masters. As CBS golf anchor Joe Musso put it, “Rory and Bryson, who seemingly get more and more bad blood by the day,” after DeChambeau called out McIlroy for not talking to him during their game. McIlroy clarified that he was focused on winning the Masters and didn’t have time for chit-chat, staying in his “own little world” to block out distractions. He added, “He’ll do what he does, and I just have to stay firm and just stay in my own little world.” Well, now it seems DeChambeau has decided to take the rivalry to the next level, flaunting his new equipment while McIlroy’s winning streak is, shall we say, on a little vacation.
Speaking on the latest presser at the LIV Golf Virginia, Bryson DeChambeau gloated about his new LA Golf Proto irons, saying, “Yeah, they felt pretty good. I think there’s more optimization at play, potential optimization at play, but it’s a good start.” These irons feature single-length shafts, all measuring 37.5 inches to the end of the grip, and incorporate “bulge and roll” technology to counteract mis-hits and reduce side spin. This design allows DeChambeau to hit shots with more consistency and control. But will it allow him to replicate his 2024 U.S Open win? Only time will tell.
DeChambeau’s focus has now shifted to his driver, which he feels “might have kind of given away this week.” He’s been using the Krank Golf Formula Fire Pro LD driver with a Project X HZRDUS T1100 shaft. “I drove it really poorly for my own standards this week, so I’m going to go work on that,” he said, adding that he’ll look to fine-tune his driver game for next week. Despite the driver struggles, DeChambeau’s new irons have given him a promising start.
And a promising start is exactly what Rory McIlroy is worried about when it comes to his driver. “I’d say I’ll be testing quite a few drivers over the weekend,” he said, after struggling with his new 44-inch driver at the Canadian Open. McIlroy’s concerns stem from finding just 13 of 28 fairways in Toronto, including a disastrous quadruple-bogey eight on the par-four fifth hole.
With the US Open looming, McIlroy knows hitting fairways is crucial, saying, “Obviously going to Oakmont next week, what you need to do more than anything else there is hit fairways.” He’s determined to put in the practice and work over the weekend to find the right driver, acknowledging that when his tee game clicks, everything else falls into place.
May 18, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Bryson DeChambeau reacts after a putt on the first green during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Valhalla Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-USA TODAY Sports
“Of course it concerns me,” he said, and well, it will concern you too if your driver was deemed non-conforming at the second major of the year.
The USGA is ready for driver testing at Oakmont
The USGA is sticking to its guns when it comes to driver testing at the U.S. Open, with roughly a third of the field expected to have their drivers put through the wringer. According to Thomas Pagel, the USGA’s chief governance officer, there’s no reason to believe hot drivers are a problem in professional golf. Regular testing on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, as well as at other major championships, has shown that drivers aren’t wildly exceeding the limit on springiness, also known as “characteristic time” (CT). The CT limit is 239, with an 18-microsecond tolerance extending to 257. Pagel notes that drivers who fail the test aren’t registering at 270, but rather creeping over the limit by a microsecond or two.
“We don’t see high numbers of failures, and we don’t see it as a great issue,” Pagel said. The USGA’s goal is to maintain the line at 257, ensuring that players don’t have to worry about their drivers failing mid-game. Driver testing benefits manufacturers by helping them understand how CT measurements can drift toward non-conformance over time.
Pagel emphasizes golf’s inherent integrity, saying, “Golfers want to play by the rules and they want to play with conforming equipment.” With testing results kept confidential, will this approach be enough to quell concerns about fairness and driver conformity? “A microsecond or two is not going to have any distance gains,” Pagel said, “but in the court of public opinion… they might assume that that player or that manufacturer is trying to get away with something.”
So, do you think something like the 2025 PGA Championship will happen at Oakmont as well? Let us know in the comment section below!
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