CARLSBAD, Calif. (Apr. 28, 2024) – Rory McIlroy needed to produce clutch golf shots down the stretch at the Zurich Classic and relied on his Qi10 driver and TP5x to complete a thrilling victory in playoff fashion. The win marks McIlroy’s 25th on the PGA TOUR moving him into T23 all-time on the PGA TOUR wins list.
On the 72nd hole, McIlroy hit his drive to the middle of the fairway and then perfectly executed a pitch shot from off the green to set his partner up for an up-and-down birdie chance which his partner drained with his Spider Tour Z to force a playoff. Then, on the playoff hole, McIlroy hit the fairway again before getting his teammate on the green and McIlroy tapping in the winning par putt with his Spider Tour X.
The win marked the fourth time in McIlroy's career on the PGA TOUR where he won a tournament in his debut playing of the event. It is also the 15th win on professional tours in 2024 for the Qi10 family of drivers.
RORY McILROY WITB
- Qi10 9.0° driver (Ventus Black 6X)
- Qi10 15.0° 3-wood (Ventus Black 8X)
- Qi10 18.0° 5-wood (Ventus Black 9X) (Project X 7.0)
- P·Series Proto 4-iron (Project X 7.0)
- Rors Proto Irons 5-9 (Project X 7.0)
- Milled Grind 4 46° SB, 50° SB, 54° SB (Project X 6.5)
- Spider Tour X Putter
- 2024 TP5x Golf Ball
INSIDE THE FIT: McILROY’S Qi10 DRIVER
The story of Rory McIlroy’s Qi10 driver starts at TaylorMade’s content shoot in the fall of 2023. Between what was built for McIlroy and what was built for the rest of Team TaylorMade, just about every driver build possible was on the range that day.
Amongst the heads in McIlroy’s bag, was something that traditionally wouldn’t be the type of driver the four-time major champion would play: the larger head profile and more forgiving Qi10 driver.
Compared to Qi10 LS, beyond just the larger shape, McIlroy noticed when he took the Qi10 home for testing that he found the center of the face more often with the help of more MOI in Qi10 vs LS. That then sparked a thought in McIlroy’s head of if he could return back to a longer driver shaft to get more distance while also having the forgiveness of the Qi10 head.
In years past, McIlroy shortened his driver shaft to 44 inches as it tightened his dispersion off the tee compared to a longer length shaft. Now with the Qi10, Rory had a chance for the first time in a few years to be able to go back to a longer shaft at 45 inches without sacrificing any change in dispersion.
With the slightly larger profile of the core head, it looked great to me at address and I found the middle of the face easier. I think sometimes when I played the longer shaft, I’ve struggled to find the middle of the face and when I went to the shorter shaft and I found the middle a bit easier. With this Qi10 driver I felt I was finding the middle of the face way easier so I thought why not try a longer shaft to see if I can get more distance?Rory McIlroy
That’s exactly what happened and McIlroy made the switch to a 45-inch Ventus Black 6X, the same shaft profile as his Qi10 fairway woods. With the new setup, he is cruising at 186 MPH ball speed and 330-yards carry.
The win at the Zurich Classic marks McIlroy’s second in 2024 with Qi10 driver after securing his recorded setting fourth win at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in just his second start with the driver. Entering this week, McIlroy was first in Total Driving and third in Driving Distance. Below is the spec on McIlroy's driver:
- Head: Qi10 9.0°
- Measured Loft: 8.25°
- Loft Sleeve: 1.5° sleeve set to one click lower
- Lie: 57.5°
- Shaft: Ventus Black 6X
- Length: 45''
- Tipping: 1’’
- Swingweight: D4
- Grip: Golf Pride Multi-Compound Blackout (1+1 Wraps Logo Up)
