For Rory McIlroy, it’s a case of out with the new and in with the old ahead of this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach pro-am on the Monterey peninsula in California. The Northern Irishman admits his “experiment” with cavity-back irons is over.
“I’m back to the trusty irons that I’ve played basically my whole career,” said McIlroy of replacing the TaylorMade P7CB cavity-back irons he used for his two appearances in Dubai on the DP World Tour last month. He returns to his TaylorMade P760 blades, which have been in his bag.
Of the decision to bite the bullet sooner rather than later and revert back to his old irons, he explained: “I felt like the cavity backs just had a little bit of a right bias in them. So whatever way the weight of the head was, or whether it was the blade length, I would hit shots . . . I’d make swings that I feel I’d make with my blades that would be a very neutral ball flight. Then, with the cavity backs, they would just start to tail off to the right.”
McIlroy played a global itinerary late last season which involved tournaments in the UAE, India and Australia. He started his season’s work on the DP World Tour, finishing tied-third in the Dubai Invitational and tied-33rd in the Desert Classic. Pebble Beach will be his first appearance of the season on the PGA Tour. It also marks his first time playing in the United States since the Ryder Cup, where he was on the receiving end of some vitriolic abuse from fans at Bethpage.
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The world No 2 doesn’t expect a repeat of those ugly scenes this week, believing it to have been a one-off episode in the Ryder Cup environment in New York.
[ Rory McIlroy holds off Shane Lowry to win the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-AmOpens in new window ]
McIlroy fended off Shane Lowry down the stretch last year to claim the Pebble Beach pro-am – a signature PGA tournament with a $20 million (€16.9 million) purse. He will start his defence on Thursday alongside New Zealander Ryan Fox at Spyglass Hill, one of three courses used for the opening three rounds (played under a pro-am format) before the final round returns to Pebble Beach.
Asked about the recent publicity, started by Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee, to elevate The Players Championship (which McIlroy won last year) to a major, McIlroy observed: “I’m a traditionalist, I’m a historian of the game. We have four major championships. If you want to see what five major championships looks like, look at the women’s game.
“I don’t know how well that’s went for them. But it’s The Players, it doesn’t need to be anything else. Like I would say, it’s got more of an identity than the PGA Championship does at the minute. From an identity standpoint, I think The Players has got it nailed – it’s an amazing tournament in its own right and I don’t think it being classified a major or not a major makes it any more or any less.
“I’m still very proud to have won that tournament twice as I’m sure all the other champions are. I don’t think [it needs to be a major]; it stands on its own without the label.”
Lowdown
AT&T Pebble Beach pro-am
PGA Tour
Purse: €16.9 million/$20m (€3.05m/$3.6m to the winner)
Where: Monterey, California, USA
The courses: Since its elevation to a signature event on the PGA Tour with a limited field of 80 players, the tournament uses two courses over the first two days – Pebble Beach Links (Par 72, 6,972 yards) and Spyglass Hill (Par 72, 7,041 yards) – before reverting to Pebble Beach Links for the finale.
The field: This is the first of the PGA Tour’s signature events of the season, reflected in the strength of the field. Nine of the world’s top 10 players are competing, with world No 1 Scottie Scheffler – already a winner of the American Express Championship this year – headlining the strong cast by the Pacific. McIlroy, the defending champion, is making his first start of the season on the PGA Tour.
Quote-Unquote: “I’ve maybe been mentally better when it’s counted more, which obviously is what golf’s all about. You’ve got to make the most of your big weeks. When you play well, you’ve got to finish off the deal. You’ve got to grab the points and the prizes when you’re playing well. I think that’s what I’ve done a better job of in the last six months or year and a half than maybe when my game’s been creating multiple chances and I haven’t grasped them quite as well.” – Justin Rose on his rich vein of form. The Englishman won the Farmers Insurance Open two weeks and is up to world number three.
Irish in the field: Rory McIlroy gets the defence of his title under way on Thursday with a first-round tee time (5.24pm Irish time) off the 10th at Spyglass Hill, where he is paired with Ryan Fox. Shane Lowry – runner-up to McIlroy last year – has a first-round outing at Pebble Beach (also 5.24pm Irish time) alongside American Ben Griffin.
Betting: Scottie Scheffler – who has three top-10s in his previous appearances at Pebble Beach – is the 10/3 favourite ahead of defending champion Rory McIlroy, who is rated a 16/1 shot on his first outing of the season on the PGA Tour In-form Chris Gotterup is a 35/1 shot while Shane Lowry is worth an each-way look at 60s. Course specialist Jordan Spieth is available at 100/1 as he hopes a return to a favoured hunting ground (he won in 2017 and was runner-up in 2022) can provide the spark to ignite his season.
On TV: Live on Sky Sports (live coverage 4.45pm).
