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Rory McIlroy: “Take that GolfWRX,” and why he said it

Published

8 years ago

on

Rory McIlroy recently appeared on the No Laying Up podcast to discuss all manner of things. Around 20 minutes into the interview, the conversation turned to the Ulsterman’s equipment, leading ultimately to a mention of our fair website.

Now, to understand why Rory McIlroy would jokingly say, “Take that GolfWRX,” you need a bit (OK, a lot) of context.

In early February, GolfWRX member lovedoctor started a thread titled “Rory McIlroy to sign with Callaway in 2017.” Not difficult to guess what the good doctor’s central claim was, which he attributed to information from “a reliable source.”

McIlroy had been without an equipment deal since Nike’s departure from that space in August of last year. Speculation was rampant about where Rory would land, especially after the golfer tested equipment in Dubai at the end of last year.

On the second page of the thread, Chris Solomon of No Laying Up joined the discussion by replying to lovedoctor’s initial post with: “This is simply not true. Rory will not be signing a deal in 2017.”

Soly’s source for that particular information was almost certainly McIlroy himself. And, as McIlroy lays out in the NLU podcast, he had planned to remain a free agent for 2017. However, that effort turned out to be more trouble than it was worth, and he was rumored to be unhappy with his golf ball at the Masters.

One thing led to another, McIlroy publicly swooned over TaylorMade’s TP5x ball, and he signed a full bag deal with TMag in May.

RoryTaylorMadeSwitchingWRXSo, Soly was ultimately wrong, in a sense, (so was lovedoctor) but he told the truth as he’d heard it straight from the horse’s mouth at the time.

Thus, you have the convoluted context for why Rory McIlroy mentioned GolfWRX. You can hear the exchange around 24 minutes into the podcast.

And thanks for the shout-out, Rors!

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Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

16 Comments

16 Comments

  1. Bosa

    Sep 24, 2017 at 2:44 pm

    Rory mcilroy is the ugliest human being on the planet.

    Reply Report comment

  2. Jacked_Loft

    Sep 23, 2017 at 4:19 am

    I don’t believe it. Something written in golfwrx was incorrect.

    Reply Report comment

  3. Speedy

    Sep 21, 2017 at 8:55 pm

    Rors, least-liked pro golfer?

    Reply Report comment

  4. TheCityGame

    Sep 21, 2017 at 12:14 pm

    The best was in Part 2 when Rory said that if he could be anyone in the world for a week, he’d pick this stud horse that rides mares 4 times a day and gets $500,000 per nut.

    lovedoctor predicted he was going to say Tiger Woods.

    He was half right.

    Reply Report comment

  5. Irma

    Sep 21, 2017 at 2:21 am

    Still wearing girly Nike clothes tough, Rors. How about introducing some other cool men’s athletic clothing company about now?

    Reply Report comment

  6. moses

    Sep 20, 2017 at 3:54 pm

    Thanks for the shout out Rory. Just gives the sight more exposure and legitimacy. 😀

    Reply Report comment

  7. Andrew

    Sep 20, 2017 at 1:15 pm

    Hey Rory! Since we now know you read WRX, know this: We can smell little man syndrome half a world away. And it’s always about the money.

    Reply Report comment

  8. Old Gaffer

    Sep 20, 2017 at 1:05 pm

    I love those rusty TM wedges. Why don’t they also make their irons rusty too?
    Chrome plating is a horrid environmentally with the heavy metals and electricity.
    Make them all naturally raw forgings!

    Reply Report comment

    • Brian

      Sep 21, 2017 at 10:15 am

      Most consumers don’t want their iron sets to rust. Wedges are replaced regularly compared to the typical golfer’s iron sets.

      Reply Report comment

      • Big J

        Jan 17, 2018 at 12:12 am

        Really? I’ve had four sets of irons since I last changed my wedges. Must just be me.

        Reply Report comment

  9. Chris B

    Sep 20, 2017 at 12:49 pm

    Well you can’t really swoon over a 10 million a year deal in public, so the ball will have to do.

    Reply Report comment

  10. RobertMuellerIII

    Sep 20, 2017 at 11:59 am

    ….and subsequently “lovedoctor” banished himself from the site, complaining of unfair targeting by the mods. The PXG challenge was withdrawn, too…

    Reply Report comment

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

on

Aug 4, 2025

By

I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear

OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.

LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break

Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.

Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.

On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.

On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.

On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.

PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home

Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.

On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?

Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.

Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?

PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates

Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.

Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.

Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

4 weeks ago

on

Jul 29, 2025

By

GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.

Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.

Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

 

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News

BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

Published

4 weeks ago

on

Jul 28, 2025

By

Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.

Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX

7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)

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