Rory McIlroy questions Scottie Scheffler’s driver choice, judging TaylorMade’s design

Rory McIlroy has expressed skepticism about Scottie Scheffler’s driver. He questioned the performance and design of TaylorMade's new Qi35 in a 'musical drivers' contest organized by the brand.

Players were called to test each other's brand-new drivers in the contest. Top players like Scheffler, Nelly Korda, McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood, Charley Hull, and Brooke Henderson tried to hit the straightest drive in the friendly competition.

When Mcllroy got his chance to hit the ball with Scheffler's Qi35, he said:

“Looks good, a little heavier.” [04:50]

Tiger Woods also showed up to supervise the competition and provided his insight into the players' driver performance. A lot of the competitors struggled with consistency in the tournament because many of them were not used to new equipment like the Qi35.

When attending this year's Arnold Palmer Invitational, Rory Mcllroy attempted to gain some form of a competitive edge by using the TaylorMade Qi35 driver but switched back to his altered Qi10.

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Rivals Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler’s performance before The Players Championship

Early this season, it seemed that Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler had different approaches heading toward The Players Championship. McIlroy succeeded at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am but struggled for consistency during his play and lacked focus; his putting affected him greatly during the Genesis Invitational and the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

McIlroy, however, seems unbothered by all this and is even considering adding another event to his calendar before the Masters to help him sharpen his skills. Notably, in The Players Championship practice round, he snatched a fan’s phone mid-match because they heckled him about his 2011 Masters meltdown.

Things are quite different for Scheffler. His season started later due to an injury, but his resilience is commendable – a top-11 finish during three out of his four outings proves that. As a two-time defending champion at The Players, Scheffler said (via Reuters):

"It doesn’t give me an advantage. Each tournament is a new challenge."

A renewed rivalry with Rory McIlroy after clashing during the 2022 PGA TOUR Championship adds another angle of depth to this season.

McIlroy seems to have his focus on fine-tuning strategies for Augusta, while Scheffler aims to extend his reign. It is fair to argue that both of them have proven that they can handle pressure, but their head-to-head at The Players might be the one that sets the tone for the whole season.