"Trying to rekindle an old flame” - Rory McIlroy on making major gear change ahead of Masters

Rory McIlroy is switching to the custom Scotty Cameron Newport after losing on average about half a stroke on the greens so far this season with his TaylorMade Spider X. With the Masters Championship nearing, this is some big news.

Golf.com's Jonathan Wall broke the news on Twitter:

"Rory McIlroy's Scotty Cameron Newport GSS is a new putter — not one he's used in the past. (The 👍 stamp is now on Rory, JT and Scottie's putters, if you're into that sort of minutiae.) Told myself and @AndrewTursky that he's trying to 'rekindle an old flame.'"

Although McIlroy has secured a win and two top-10 finishes this season, his performances haven't been what he is expecting. The stats also confirm his belief.

The former World No. 1 has been good from tee to green but putting has been mediocre. As of today, McIlroy ranks 133rd at 4 to 8 feet, 173rd in SG: Putting, and 209th in Average Distance of Putts made this season.

That's why we can see Rory playing with the Scotty Cameron Newport GSS putter in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play starting on Wednesday.

It's not as if the 33-year-old is using Scotty Cameron for the first time. He won his first two major championships with Cameron before signing a deal with Nike in 2013.

When Nike stopped its equipment manufacturing business in 2016, McIlroy used the Scotty Cameron Select Newport M1 Tour Prototype Mallet to emerge victorious at that year's Tour Championship.

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What's next for Rory McIlroy?

Rory McIlroy WGC MatchPlay in 2015

Rory McIlroy will feature in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, starting on Wednesday, March 22, at Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas.

McIlroy won the tournament in 2015, beating Gary Woodland by 4 and 2.

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Format

The tournament is split into two phases:

The contestants are divided into 16 groups, with each group comprising four players. The seeding for the groups is done based on the player's ranking, with the groups being seeded from 1-16, 17-32, 33-48, and 49-64.

The groups participate in a round-robin format across three days - Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. A win earns a player one point, and a tie gives them half a point. The only player who progresses to the next round is the group winner.

If two or more players are tied at the top of the group, a sudden death stroke play tie-breaker is conducted to determine the group winner.

The second phase is the knockout tournament, with the round of 16 and quarterfinals played on Saturday, and the semifinals, third-place playoffs, and finals played on Sunday.

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Groups

Group 1

• Scottie Scheffler (1)
• Tom Kim (17)
• Alex Noren (38)
• Davis Riley (54)

Group 2

• Jon Rahm (2)
• Billy Horschel (22)
• Keith Mitchell (39)
• Rickie Fowler (49)

Group 3

• Rory McIlroy (3)
• Keegan Bradley (20)
• Denny McCarthy (48)
• Scott Stallings (52)

Group 4

• Patrick Cantlay (4)
• Brian Harman (25)
• K.H. Lee (35)
• Nick Taylor (55)

Group 5

• Max Homa (5)
• Hideki Matsuyama (18)
• Kevin Kisner (42)
• Justin Suh (63)

Group 6

• Xander Schauffele (6)
• Tom Hoge (23)
• Aaron Wise (40)
• Cam Davis (64)

Group 7

• Will Zalatoris (7)
• Ryan Fox (29)
• Harris English (37)
• Andrew Putnam (56)

Group 8

• Viktor Hovland (8)
• Chris Kirk (28)
• Si Woo Kim (34)
• Matt Kuchar (59)

Group 9

• Collin Morikawa (9)
• Jason Day (32)
• Adam Svensson (44)
• Victor Perez (51)

Group 10

• Tony Finau (10)
• Kurt Kitayama (19)
• Adrian Meronk (45)
• Christiaan Bezuidenhout (60)

Group 11

• Matt Fitzpatrick (11)
• Sahith Theegala (26)
• Min Woo Lee (41)
• J.J. Spaun (61)

Group 12

• Jordan Spieth (12)
• Shane Lowry (21)
• Taylor Montgomery (47)
• Mackenzie Hughes (50)

Group 13

• Sam Burns (13)
• Seamus Power (30)
• Adam Scott (33)
• Adam Hadwin (53)

Group 14

• Tyrrell Hatton (14)
• Russell Henley (31)
• Lucas Herbert (46)
• Ben Griffin (62)

Group 15

• Cameron Young (15)
• Sepp Straka (27)
• Corey Conners (36)
• Davis Thompson (57)

Group 16

• Sungjae Im (16)
• Tommy Fleetwood (24)
• J.T. Poston (43)
• Maverick McNealy (58)