Rory McIlroy is one of the biggest names in the Arnold Palmer Invitational field, and he spoke to the media before the latest in the PGA Tour’s signature events at Bay Hill as he looks for a second win of the season following victory at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
However, whenever the four-time Major winner speaks, the discussion rarely focuses on the state of his game alone, with the 35-year-old frequently opening up on a wide range of topics. That was no different this time, with McIlroy offering his thoughts on everything from reunification of the men's game to potential tweaks to the format of the Tour Championship.
Here are 6 of the biggest takeaways from his pre-tournament press conference.
‘I Don’t Think The PGA Tour Needs A Deal’
Gone are the days when McIlroy acted as an unofficial spokesperson for the PGA Tour as he defended the circuit in the face of LIV Golf’s emergence, but almost three years on from its rival's launch, there is still little clarity on when or even if a deal to reunite the men’s game will come to fruition.
In any case, McIlroy isn’t convinced an agreement between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund behind LIV Golf is essential. He said: “I think the narrative around golf, I wouldn't say needs a deal, I think the narrative around golf would welcome a deal in terms of just having all the best players together again. But I don't think the PGA Tour needs a deal. I think the momentum is pretty strong.
"TV's been good, TGL's been hopefully pretty additive to the overall situation. And yeah, I would say, you know, again, I answered this question at Torrey Pines two weeks ago, before, you know, the landscape might have looked a little different then than it does now over these past couple of weeks, and I think a deal would still be the - I think it would still be the ideal scenario for golf as a whole. But from a pure PGA Tour perspective, I don't think it, I don't think it necessarily needs it."
There has been movement on a potential deal in recent weeks, with positive noises coming out of meetings between representatives of the PGA Tour and the PIF and US President Donald Trump, but McIlroy remains unconvinced we're much closer to a resolution.
He added: “Look, I think it takes two to tango. So if one party is willing and ready and the other isn't, it sort of makes it tough,” before saying: “I don't think it's ever felt that close, but I don't, it doesn't feel like it's any closer.”
Player-Caddie Interaction
Earlier in the week, the PGA Tour announced that, as part of its drive to give fans more of what they want, there will be fewer commercials during the broadcast of this week’s tournament, to be replaced by more player-caddie interaction.
McIlroy can see plenty of benefits to the approach. He said: “Yeah, I mean I think it's great for the game. I think it's great for the core golf fan, the people that want to hear that sort of stuff. They want to hear the strategy, they want to hear a player and a caddie talk through what sort of shot they're going to hit, how they're going to play it. Anything that provides more context to what we're doing out there I think is a really good thing.”
He doesn’t think the move will cause a distraction either, explaining: “It's not going to make a difference for us at all, we're just going about your business doing the same thing."
Big Equipment Changes
While any interaction involving McIlroy and caddie Harry Diamond is likely to be insightful, it could be even more so this week, because he has made some big changes to his equipment.
McIlroy made a ball switch days before winning the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and he admitted that had led him to making tweaks elsewhere. “Yeah, I think it's all really come from the ball change a few weeks ago,” he began, before going into greater detail on exactly what he’s looked at.
He said: “So because this ball, especially with the shorter irons, spins a little bit more, especially with the sort of three-quarter shots, I feel a little more comfortable playing those, so I actually weakened my pitching wedge by a degree and a half to sort of bridge the gap between having a 46 and a half and a 54.
"So that's my 48 degree, and then 54, 60. I just feel like with the ball I'm a lot more comfortable playing those sort of half- and three-quarter shots, so comfortable going back to three wedges.”
He didn’t stop there, looking at the top end of his bag too, explaining that he has gone with a stronger 3-wood, a 5-wood to a 4-wood, with a 3-iron replacing the 5-wood. But why?
“It just sort of gives me more options off the tee,” he said. “Especially with being so comfortable at the other end of the bag with the wedges and hitting those three-quarter shots that it's nice to have those options up at the top end of the bag.”
McIlroy also looks to have put in the new TaylorMade Qi35 driver this week at Bay Hill, too, to replace his Qi10.
The Run-Up To The Masters
One of the career milestones McIlroy covets the most is the completion of his career Grand Slam at The Masters. As usual, plenty of attention will be on McIlroy when he tees it up at Augusta National and his 17th attempt to win the Green Jacket.
However, while hasn’t yet figured out his schedule in the build-up to April’s Major, he revealed he's considering adding an event despite previously saying he would reduce his schedule this year.
He said: “Yeah, I'm still making a bit of a decision. I'm going to play these next two weeks, I'll see how these next two weeks go, then I'll sort of reassess.
“I don't like the idea of having three weeks off going into the Masters, so I may add one event, but I'm still between what event that may be. But it really just depends on how these two weeks go and how I'm feeling about my game. But I would imagine I would add an event leading into there, it just depends on whether it's Houston or San Antonio.”
Potential Change To Tour Championship Format
McIlroy also turned his attention to the business end of the season, and specifically the conclusion of the FedEx Cup Playoffs with the Tour Championship.
In January, The Athletic reported that the format could change, with a match play-style contest among the possibilities being considered. However, McIlroy isn’t convinced that’s the right fit for the East Lake Golf Club event, particularly with strokeplay dominating the rest of the season.
“Everyone sort of talks about the match play format, and like we don't have a match play tournament,” he acknowledged. “So, would East Lake lend itself to match play and would that be exciting? And it might be, but I think one of the comments has been, you know, we play stroke play the whole way throughout the season, and then to decide the FedExCup champion, we play match play?
"It's like, I don't, I don't know if that's the best way to determine the season-long champion. It could be. Like, like I like the format, I like the idea.”
Taking The Positives From TGL
While the Tour Championship is five months away, one thing done and dusted for the year is McIlroy’s playing involvement in the contest he co-founded with Tiger Woods, TGL. His team Boston Common Golf failed to reach the semi-finals, bowing out of its inaugural season winless with a 6-10 defeat to New York Golf Club earlier in the week.
Despite that disappointment, he sees positives from the opening season. He said: “Yeah, look, I'm disappointed, like it would have been nice for Boston to at least get one win during the season.
“So, yeah, disappointed, but also encouraged that - I think the thing is, like for a first season you really, we didn't know how it was going to go, and I think the thing that I've been excited about is the player buy-in, like everyone seems to be having fun out there, enjoying it and excited to play.”
