Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Joshua Lees

Rory McIlroy takes unusual step to end major drought at Masters despite £16m-a-year deal

Rory McIlroy has reportedly made a huge equipment change ahead of the upcoming Masters Tournament, in a bid to end his nine-year drought for a major championship.

Despite cementing himself as one of the sport's top players in recent years, McIlroy is without a major triumph since his victory at the PGA Championship in 2014. Since then, the Northern Irishman has endured a number of near misses, including most recently at last summer's Open Championship.

With McIlroy playing some of the best golf of his career over the past year, excitement is once again building that this wait could be coming to an end, with this year's Masters less than a month away.

And in a bid to recreate his major success, The Telegraph has reported that Northern Irishman is now using a replica of the putter that helped him secure two of his four prestigious crowns. McIlroy had the Studio Select Newport GSS in his bag when winning the 2011 US Open and the 2012 PGA Championship.

A replica of the club has now returned, but has come as a shock to many, with the four-time major winner holding a £16 million per-year sponsorship deal with one of golf's leading manufacturers, Taylormade.

McIlroy has donned Taylormade clubs since signing with the company four years ago, with the only exception coming at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where he used a Scotty Cameron Phantom X 11.5, before quickly returning to the Taylormade Spider.

Do you think Rory McIlroy can win The Masters? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Rory McIlroy is out to end his nine-year wait for a major (Alamy Live News.)

The Taylormade putter has no doubt served the Northern Irishman well in recent years, having helped him rekindle some of his best form. In 2022, the four-time major winner returned to No. 1 in the world, whilst also winning the season long races on both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, taking the FedEx Cup and the DP World Tour Championship.

And this form has carried on into 2023, with McIlroy securing the Dubai Desert Championship in January, whilst also missing out on the Arnold Palmer Invitational by just one shot last month. The 33-year-old will have the replica putter in the bag for this week's WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play event in Austin, which kicks off on Wednesday.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.