PGA Tour golfer touted for stardom by Rory McIlroy spotted testing Bryson DeChambeau's driver

Multiple PGA Tour winner Jake Knapp has been spotted testing out Bryson DeChambeau's driver before the Charles Schwab Challenge. 

DeChambeau debuted the Krank Formula Fire LD driver at LIV's stop at The Greenbrier in August 2023. 

The club is just one of many reasons why DeChambeau, 31, has played so well over the last couple of years since becoming an equipment free agent. 

DeChambeau is now regarded as one of the very best drivers on the planet because not only is he long but finds fairways with alarming regularity. 

This season alone, DeChambeau has found 66 per cent of fairways in the LIV Golf League whilst also hitting it further than anyone (333.3 yards). 

That's probably why Knapp has decided to give it a trial run. It's unclear if he will use it full-time. 

Already this season, Knapp has played the TaylorMade Qi10 driver, the PING G425 LST and the PXG Secret Weapon Mini Driver. His current gamer is the TaylorMade Qi35.  

As first reported by GolfWRX, Knapp was spotted at Colonial Country Club using the Krank Formula Fire LD driver with 7.5° loft. 

Knapp is currently inside the top 10 on the PGA Tour in terms of clubhead speed (123.5mph) and is 35th overall in driving distance (307.2 yards) but is way down the list in terms of accuracy (169th) and strokes gained: off the tee (127th). 

The 30-year-old impressed Rory McIlroy as he claimed his first win in Mexico. 

"He could definitely be a star," McIlroy previously said. "It looks like he’s got the full package. He's obviously got the speed. 

"He can control that speed pretty well. He hit some beautiful shots out there today. Looks like his short game is pretty good."

Bryson DeChambeau wants a new golf ball

DeChambeau told reporters after the PGA Championship it was clear where he needed to improve if he wants to beat Scottie Scheffler in the future. 

The two-time U.S. Open champion wants to find a golf ball that will suit his demands. 

"What I really think needs to happen, being pretty transparent here, is just get a golf ball that flies a little straighter," DeChambeau said. 

"Everybody talks about how straight the golf ball flies. Well, upwards of 190 (mph) like Rory and myself, it's actually quite difficult to control the golf ball. 

"The ball sidespins quite a bit and it gets hit by the wind quite a bit because our golf balls are just longer in the air.

"So I'm looking at ways of how to rectify that so that my wedges can be even tighter so it can fly straighter. 

"I feel like there are times where I hit wedges and it just over-curves, depending how high and how much time it is in the air and how much spin is on the ball.

"I think that's really what I'm going to be looking at now along with some equipment stuff to just make myself a little more precise the next time, so we don't have what happened this week happen.

"I'm going to work my butt to have make that happen. It's all up to manufacturing. We'll see what happens but I'm keen on finding something and I'm keen on improving. I'm excited for that."