279-yard 4-iron?! Check out Rory McIlroy’s ridiculous yardages at the WGC-Mexico Championship

February 21, 2020

Rory McIlroy always hits the ball a long way, but this week he's taken it to another level.

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On Thursday, Rory McIlroy stepped up to the 621-yard par-5 11th hole at Golf Club de Chapultepec and laced a 347-yard tee shot down the fairway. Facing down a 274-yard approach shot, McIlroy grabbed 4-iron from his bag. 4-iron!

You’ve likely heard by now that this week’s WGC-Mexico Championship is being played at elevation — some 7,800+ feet above sea level — but seeing some of the yardages golf’s bombers are now hitting the ball is truly next-level. That 4-iron? McIlroy actually hit it too far, flying it pin-high and rolling out to 279 yards total. He buried the 17-footer for eagle.

Bringing it early.

👀 @McIlroyRory's round on @PGATOURLIVE.

📺: https://t.co/WywtRLOLiq pic.twitter.com/cQug7xmlAg

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 20, 2020

“Yeah, it was a 4-iron from like 275,” McIlroy said nonchalantly. “It was really good. I was in between 4 and the rescue I’m carrying, but the wind just died down a touch and I was able to hit a good 4-iron in there.”

It’s a far cry from the sea-level yardages McIlroy and the rest of the Genesis Invitational field were playing last week in Los Angeles. But as McIlroy pointed out post-round, once the shock factor wears off, he just has to adjust to his new numbers.

“I mean, I was hitting little 7-irons from 155 yards at Riviera last week. It’s very different. It’s very different. Even when you get a shot into the wind here, it doesn’t affect it that much because into the wind the ball stays in the air longer and has a chance to fly further. So even into the wind there today on that last par-3 we played, the 7th hole, I pitched a 6-iron 230 into the wind.

“It plays a lot different. I mean, at the end of the day, it’s just a number, so if I know that this week my wedge goes 170, then that’s what I do, and I just have to trust that that’s what it goes. My 9-iron goes 180 in, my 8-iron goes 200, my 7 goes whatever, and as long as you trust those numbers and know that it is going to go that distance, it doesn’t really matter what club you’re using.”