Rory McIlroy makes an unusual gear switch for Friday at the Genesis Invitational

It was a surprisingly normal Thursday for Rory McIlroy off the tee at the Genesis Invitational. In a field of 129, the World No. 2 ranked just 39th in strokes gained: off the tee. Not bad, but certainly not at the level that got McIlroy to 3rd on Tour in that same category last season. And in his post-round presser, it was clear he knew it.

“I’m going to go work on the range,” he told reporters. “I put my driver up a click in loft at the start of the week, I might have to turn it back down again. I don’t like [Tiger] hitting it by
me.”

On Friday, McIlroy returned to Riviera with change on his mind — and much more than a “click in loft.” When Rory arrived at the course on Friday, he’d changed up his driver from the first-generation Stealth Plus to a second-generation Stealth 2 Plus.

The move was, to put it lightly, a surprise. Although Rory made changes to his wedge setup prior to the start of his 2023 season, his first-gen Stealth Plus driver has been a mainstay in the bag going back to the start of the 2022 season.

The driver change is looking like a good one for Rory, who jumped from 39th in the field in SG: off-the-tee on Thursday to 3rd on Friday.

The highlight reel certainly enjoyed the change, too. Even though it represents a statistical outlier, Rory recorded the longest drive of the tournament with the new driver in his bag, a whopping 388-yard blast that measured some 50 yards longer than his longest drive of round of 1.

Of course, it’s possible he could switch back to old reliable for round 3 on Saturday, but after vaulting himself to 6-under for the week on Friday at Riviera, it’s possible the Stealth 2 Plus is here to stay.

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