McIlroy in cut battle as he beds in new driver in Canada

Rory McIlroy walks up the eighth fairway during the second round of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club on Friday, May 16, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/PGA of America)

Rory McIlroy shrugged off two closing bogeys and insisted he still has time to bed in a new driver and contend for his third RBC Canadian Open victory.

The Masters champion had his driver ruled non-conforming at the PGA Championship two weeks ago, and after struggling with a replacement, he put a new one in the bag at TPC Toronto, where a one-over 71 left him tied for 122nd and facing a cut battle today.

“I actually felt like I played okay,” said the Co Down man, who hit just nine greens in regulation but was happy to see his left miss with the driver turn into a more manageable miss to the right.

“It was my first outing with a new driver, and I felt like that went pretty well. I hit some drives that I liked and that I liked to see, so that was encouraging.”

The world number two played the back nine blind in rainy conditions and dropped shots at the 12th and 17th before turning things around with three birdies in a row from the 18th.

But while he paid for missed fairways with bogeys at the eighth and ninth, he was still upbeat though he ended the day 10 stokes behind Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen and Chile’s Cristobal del Solar.

“Overall, I'm actually pretty happy with how I played,” he said. “I'm still trying to work on some things, but I'm okay with where everything is…

“Hopefully, that's the end of the rain, and it can firm up a little bit. Look, it's a very gettable golf course, especially with how soft it is.

‘I'm going to have to, as I said, do a little bit better tomorrow to be here for the weekend and give myself a chance.”

As for the new driver, he said he was trying to work on his right miss.

"It's just trying to figure that out and manage it a little bit,” he explained. "It's a nice feeling to get up the middle of the fairway and fully release it and know it's not going to go left on you.

“A little bit of practice this afternoon and get ready for tomorrow.”