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McIlroy switches back from new Nike putter

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 17:06:00 GMT

The Rory McIlroy-to-Nike-equipment rumors persisted for months before becoming true. His return to one of his old clubs took far less time.

Before his second competitive round representing Nike at the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship, McIlroy ditched the company's putter for his trusted Scotty Cameron. In a post-round interview, McIlroy told the Golf Channel, "I just felt like I wasn't getting the ball to the hole. The greens here are a little slow and the Nike putter I used yesterday is quite light, so for practicing on fast greens it's great, but when you get on greens that aren't quite as quick like here, I felt like I was having to hit it a bit more. So, it's just a weight issue. The one I used today is a bit heavier, so I thought I could stroke it a bit more, so that was it."

Whatever the reason, it didn't seem to help much. The world No. 1 shot a second-straight 75 to miss the cut in his first tournament of 2013 and his first-ever event as a pro not playing Titleist clubs.

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Nike probably won't be too pleased with the putter swap and all the publicity it will bring. Many analysts, including six-time major champion Nick Faldo, were already questioning McIlroy's switch to the Swoosh.

McIlroy isn't the first big name to take the Method putter out of his bag. Tiger Woods first put the club in play during the 2010 British Open only to switch back to his Scotty Cameron before the final round that week. He would eventually go back to the Method and is currently putting with it. Like McIlroy, his missed cut this week -- thanks in part to a two-shot penalty -- wasn't exactly what Nike had planned when they commemorated the duo's 2013 debut by airing a commercial of them playfully competing on a driving range.

At his press conference announcing his switch to Nike on Jan. 14, McIlroy was specifically asked if his new contract would allow him to switch back to his old putter. He dodged the question by praising his new equipment and saying he didn't want to get into contract specifics.

Despite being the world's best player, putting has been the worst part of McIlroy's game. He ranked 82nd on the PGA Tour in strokes gained/putting, and struggled particularly from four to eight feet, where he ranked a dismal 158th.

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Woods and McIlroy start season with a thud

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 14:19:00 GMT

By John Huggan

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- On a day when the preponderance of inappropriate long grass and an ever-rising breeze made good scoring the preserve of a fortunate few, the two best golfers on the planet joined the majority of the morning field on Day One of the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship in performing some way short of their potential.

Tiger Woods described the conditions as "so hard out there," en route to an opening 72 that was three shots better than his playing companion and world No. 1 Rory McIlroy. Amidst a flurry of perplexingly wild shots, the Ulsterman made a brace of double bogeys -- one the result of a drive that found a distant car park -- and only two birdies in a round that was both his first competitive outing in eight weeks and his first ever with a set of gleaming Nike clubs in the bag.

Which is not to say that Woods -- who actually said his short game had been "very sharp" all day -- did not match McIlroy in the duffing department. Most notably, the pop-up tee-shot he hit off the first tee (his tenth) failed to carry the 100-yards necessary to reach the fairway. Estimates varied, but the consensus seemed to be that the 14-time major champion's club contacted the turf somewhere between one and two inches behind the ball. Whatever, it was certainly more "splat" than "swoosh."

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"My plan was to hit a 3-iron or a 5-wood off that tee," he explained. "Especially with this wind. But I changed my mind on the tee and wasn't committed to the shot. I didn't want to hit it. I should have backed off and followed my game plan. But I didn't do that and so paid the price."

"You just have to look at the scoreboard to see how tough it is out there," continued Woods, who three-putted his final hole for a disappointing bogey. "A lot of guys are struggling. This is a very difficult course in this wind. The fairways are narrow and a lot of holes are played in a crosswind. It seemed like we were banking up against the wind pretty much all day. "

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All of which is true. But still, it wasn't that hard. By lunchtime as many as eight players had posted scores in the 60s, a fact that only emphasized the relative mediocrity produced by the two highest-profile players in the game.

Typically, however, McIlroy was making no excuses for a decidedly dodgy performance dotted with uncharacteristically-wayward shots. His tee shot at the short, 186-yard 12th hole missed its target by a good 30 yards right and eventually led to the first of those double bogeys. The second came at the 439-yard third hole, where his first drive found the aforementioned car park way to the right -- admittedly after ricocheting off a tree -- and his second the left rough. By most estimates, there was at least 150 yards between the two balls.

Not surprisingly, McIlroy put his struggles down to "rustiness" rather than anything equipment based. But he did acknowledge that adjusting to his new clubs was an ongoing process.

"My problems were more swing-related than club-related," he insisted. "Whenever the wind was right-to-left I was comfortable enough cutting the ball into it. But when it was blowing the other way I had trouble releasing the shot properly.

"When you go out with new stuff you are always going to be a little bit anxious. I was hoping I was going to hit it on the course like I have on the range, but today that wasn't quite the case. Still, I learned a few things. Apart from that one shot on the par 3, my irons were pretty good. Hopefully I can put them into play tomorrow.

"I'll be out on the range this afternoon, working on it. I obviously need to play a bit better if I'm going to make it to the weekend. It wasn't all bad, though. While this obviously wasn't the round I was looking for, there were a few good signs out there."

As for the level of social interaction between the two Nike stars, it was, as Woods pointed out, "difficult to talk too much when we were both trying to grind out a score." Another factor in those lengthy silences, of course, was that only on their final hole did both men find the fairway from the tee. Things, one feels, can only get better. For both.

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With McIlroy, Woods relegated to co-starring role

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 14:10:00 GMT

By John Huggan

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- One of the most frustrating features of what will surely become known as golf's "Tiger Era," has been the lack of pubic candor emanating from the 14-time major champion. For reasons that have never been entirely clear -- mostly because he had never deigned to tell anyone -- Woods has played what cricketers call a"straight bat" to almost every question. In other words, his answers have invariably and typically been both predictable and pedestrian.

Still, time moves on and so has golf. No longer No. 1, either on the ranking list or the Nike client roster, Tiger's snarl has been reduced in volume and significance. At least that was how it looked when the world's best two players took to the stage prior to this week's HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship.

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During his press conference the new No. 1 was asked seven questions about the now world No. 2. In stark contrast, the now No. 2 had earlier fended off as many as 15 queries related to the one man ranked above him. Suddenly, Rory is the man making the news; Tiger is the afterthought.

Which is no surprise in this particular week, of course. Wearing his new Swoosh-festooned togs, McIlroy commented on a range of subjects, each time living up to his long-ago promise to make every effort to give thoughtful and relatively engaging responses to questions. In that respect at least, the PGA champion hasn't changed at all in the more than five years he has so far spent in the professional ranks.

"I wouldn't have thought that I would be sitting here as a two-time major champion, No. 1 in the world and doing everything that I've done in the game already," he acknowledged. "It's all been happening a lot faster that I thought it was going to happen."

The one area where the game's best player became less than forthcoming was when the subject at hand veered into the extent and/or value of his new clothing and equipment contract.

"I'm just concentrating on the golf," he said with a smile. "All the financial stuff will take care of itself. I'm here to try and win trophies. They are worth more than any contract."

The details of that contract, incidentally,seem to have been thrashed out by someone other than McIlroy himself. Asked whether he is "allowed" to wear a red shirt on the final day of an event where Tiger is playing, he was clearly discombobulated.

"I really couldn't tell you," he said. "I'm not sure. I've won in red before, but I'd rather just wear something that goes with green."

That lightness of touch was, as usual, missing from Woods' 25-minute sparring session with his close personal friends in the media, although it must be acknowledged that every Rory question was answered without a hint of irritation.

"I like Rory as a person," he said in response to question number 13. "He's a really nice kid. I think all of you guys are aware of that."

Perhaps the most interesting and revealing anecdote, however, came when Tiger was asked about Rory's near absence from the Ryder Cup singles at Medinah.

"I missed a tee time in a junior event," he said. "I called in for my tee time and said 'Woods' when they asked for my name. Unfortunately, there was a guy called Steve Woods in the field and they gave me his time. It was a pretty empty feeling to show up and know that I had cost myself the chance to win the tournament."

Second prize on the interesting gauge came when Woods was quizzed on what influence he had had in Rory's switch to Nike. And what, if anything, has he (Tiger) changed in his bag recently.

"None," was the unsurprising answer to part one. But part two elicited the following response:

"I have put in a fresh batch of irons. The grooves were getting a little worn. So I wanted to make sure I started off the year with fresh irons. I usually switch them up every six, seven months."

Did not know that.

Still, in the first Nike-to-Nike clash of 2013, McIlroy emerged as the winner. Call it 4&3, with Woods scrambling to stay even that close.

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