Rory McIlroy doesn't want to elaborate on his driver situation at U.S. Open

Rory McIlroy was asked a perfectly simple question about his driver of choice ahead of this week's U.S. Open at Oakmont. 

Only he clearly didn't want to divulge a great deal of information about the subject.

McIlroy, 36, was pressed for comment about his driver of choice for golf's third major of the season during his Tuesday press conference.

After missing his first cut on the PGA Tour since The Open last July at the RBC Canadian Open on Friday, the World No.2 confirmed his decision to revert back to the newer TaylorMade Qi35 Driver had not worked.

He found just four fairways in the second round en route to shooting a dismal 78 and missing the cut on 9-over  par.

McIlroy admitted he would "likely be testing multiple drivers over the weekend".

The Northern Irishman was therefore questioned by a reporter in the media centre on Tuesday as to which golf driver had made its way into his bag ahead of the U.S. Open.

McIlroy answered, but kept things short as he placed his fist to his cheek.

"Yeah," said McIlroy when asked if he had settled on a driver for the U.S. Open.

"What is it?" replied the curious reporter.

"A TaylorMade," said McIlroy bluntly.

"What model?" responded the reporter.

"I mean, come out and watch me hit balls, and you'll see," answered McIlroy, clearly not wanting to take the conversation any further.

Scroll down to watch McIlroy's response...

As it soon came to light as media members headed out to watch McIlroy bash balls on the range, the TaylorMade staffer had indeed removed his Qi35 that he had used for two days in Canada and gone back to his Qi10.

For added context, McIlroy revealed before last week's RBC Canadian Open that he was "p****d" two media members had leaked information that his TaylorMade Qi10 Driver had been deemed 'non-conforming' by the USGA on the eve of the PGA Championship.

That irked McIlroy so much - since he felt that was confidential information - that he refused interview requests all four tournament days at golf's second major of the season at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte. 

McIlroy admitted he was frustrated that his name was the only one that had been leaked by the media, when there were another nine players that had also seen their drivers fail C.T. tests prior to the PGA Championship. 

One player was eventual PGA champion Scottie Scheffler, who spoke more about his own situation after the final round.

McIlroy had to switch drivers as a result of his failed test, but he remained with a Qi10 head.

Scheffler did exactly the same thing, too. 

Asked how big a factor his driver change impacted his performance en route to a laclustre T47 at the PGA, and McIlroy replied: "It wasn't a big deal for Scottie, so it shouldn't have been a big deal for me."

When McIlroy was further pressed during his U.S. Open press conference to discuss what he learned most about his game during a hard weekend of practice back home after missing the cut in Canada, and his reply likely had those at TaylorMade HQ pinching their lips.

"I learned that I wasn't using the right driver," said McIlroy with a wry smile.

Watch McIlroy's reaction to a reporter when asked to talk about his driver of choice at this week's U.S. Open: 

McIlroy used the Qi10 Driver en route to winning The Masters and becoming the sixth player to complete the career grand slam.

The Qi10 has largely been McIlroy's driver of choice for the past 18 months.

But whatever reason and despite a lot of testing at both the start of the season and again after the PGA, McIlroy still hasn't got comfortable with the Qi35 Driver, a club that was a clear winner in our Best Golf Drivers test.

McIlroy first used the Qi35 on the PGA Tour for three rounds at Bay Hill in March, but he would end up forking out nearly $1,000 to get his Qi10 Ubered to him ahead of the final round.

He has stuck by the Qi10 ever since, albeit for two rounds at the RBC Canadian Open last week where he reverted back to the Qi35.

Anyway, McIlroy has the Qi10 back in play at the U.S. Open this week and he will be looking to get his game back on track after some indifferent performances since winning The Masters in April, which marked his third victory of the PGA Tour season.

Only Scheffler has matched that feat in 2025.

McIlroy ended up a respectable T7 in his first start after The Masters, before going on to finish T47 at the PGA Championship and miss the cut at the RBC Canadian Open last week.

As a result of a dip in form of late, McIlroy's price has slid in the betting market ahead of the U.S. Open.

A month ago McIlroy was down at 6/1 to win the U.S. Open with the bookmakers.

But he's now available at 12/1.

World No.1 Scheffler is a red-hot favourite to win back to back majors at odds of 11/4.

Should Scheffler go on to win a first U.S. Open title this Sunday then he will be one leg away from completing the career grand slam.

GolfMagic Editor and expert tipster Andy Roberts is extremely confident on Scheffler's chances at the U.S. Open.

Check out his U.S. Open Betting Tips guide.