Rory McIlroy's post-Masters struggles continued at the RBC Heritage in South Carolina. On the 16th hole, McIlroy found his ball just off the green and positioned himself to ensure he could chip the ball close to the hole with ease.
After measuring the distance, McIlroy softly chipped the ball in hopes of landing the ball on the green. Instead, he did not put enough power behind his swing and his ball only went a handful of feet in front of him, not enough to land where he desired the ball to go.
The ball also appeared to hit a divot in the grass, causing it to briefly bounce and head toward McIlroy's left, just a mere handful of steps away from where he stood. McIlroy ended up with a bogey on that hole, just one of three he had on the day.
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Despite the brief moment of frustration, it appeared as if the golf star was bouncing back from a rough showing at Augusta. Through three rounds, he is tied for 12th, shooting 68 Saturday, thanks to six birdies and three bogeys.
Of note on the eighth hole, McIlroy almost made a spectacular shot from 195 yards out. On his second stroke, McIlroy landed a ball in the green and as it approached the hole, the ball narrowly lipped out, leaving the 34-year-old stunned the ball did not go in and the crowd elated by what they had just seen.
That was one of McIlroy's birdies of the day, along with birdies on holes two, three, five, 12 and 15. McIlroy's change in how he is playing could be attributed to the fact that he has changed his equipment for the RBC Heritage.
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After failing in his quest to win a green jacket, McIlroy added a new club to his bag: The TaylorMade BRNR Moini Driver Copper 13.5-degree. The new club took the place of his Qi10 3-wood, which he used at Augusta.
The 34-year-old had been using the mini-driver at other tournaments such as the Valero Texas Open but elected to use his Qi10 during the Masters. Though he only used the driver sparingly throughout the competition, McIlroy believes he will be using the club more as he becomes more comfortable with it.
"I actually think I only hit it three times," the star said after Friday's session. "The way the wind was today out of the south means I didn't hit it -- some of the holes I hit it in practice, I was hitting 5-wood off the tee and then there was a couple of holes where I hit mini in the practice round, then hit driver because the wind was into. But it's a great club. It's versatile. I'm sure I'll use it quite a bit over these next few days."
With the change in equipment and seemingly a new approach, McIlroy looks poised to have some success at RBC. Heading into the final round, he is six shots back of the lead, with Scottie Scheffler leading the way.
However, Scheffler, the No. 1 in the world, has admitted he was "emotionally drained" from his victory at the Masters and could potentially slip up on the final day. "I got pretty frustrated towards the middle of the round because I was playing good, felt like I was hitting good putts, and my speed was maybe a touch off. I was out on some of my reads," he said.
Considering Scheffler's mental fatigue, the time could be right for McIlroy to make a move and turn his fortunes around.
