Rory McIlroy | What's In The Bag? | The Players Championship 2024 @ TPC Sawgrass

Rory McIlroy produced an early birdie frenzy and was involved in a heated rules debate with Jordan Spieth during an eventful opening round at The Players Championship 2024. McIlroy came into The Players without a top-20 finish this season, but managed to successfully banish off some early-season difficulties with his irons to share the clubhouse lead with Xander Schauffele. The world #2 amassed 10 birdies (a career best at TPC Sawgrass) - combined with a bogey and a double-bogey to post a 65 on Thursday morning.

Despite McIlroy's impressive opening day performance, the focus shifted when his playing partners, Spieth and Viktor Hovland, engaged in a protracted discussion at the seventh hole. Both raised concerns about McIlroy's ball drop after it landed in the water, with Spieth suggesting it might have crossed the red line elsewhere. The debate persisted for several minutes, necessitating the intervention of a rules official to reach a resolution.

McIlroy managed to consolidate quickly and contained the setback to a bogey, completing the front nine in 31 strokes. He rebounded swiftly with birdies at the second and fourth holes, drawing level with the 2019 champion at seven under par when Schauffele secured five birdies within a six-hole span starting from the 18th.

A 15-foot birdie putt on the par-four sixth propelled McIlroy back into the lead and hinted at a potential challenge to Tom Hoge's course record of 62. However, his tee shot on the seventh landed in a hazard, sparking a prolonged discussion with Spieth and Hovland regarding the appropriate drop location.

On the 10th tee, McIlroy continued the round brilliantly, kicking off with a birdie and smoothly two-putting from a 60-foot distance to capitalise on the par-five 11th. Following up with a five-foot birdie on the 12th and sinking a 15-foot putt on the 14th, the Northern Irishman surged ahead of the competition with a tap-in birdie on the par-five 16th.

Continuing his momentum, McIlory secured another birdie on the renowned par-three 17th, marking six birdies within the initial eight holes, a feat unprecedented in his PGA Tour career. However, his aggressive tee shot on the par-four 18th found water, slightly dampening his impressive start.

McIlroy shared his reflections on his round, "It had a little bit of everything." He acknowledged his strong start and noted significant improvements in his play compared to recent weeks, attributing it to dedicated practice over the past three days.

Feeling like he had made some breakthroughs, McIlroy emphasised the uncertainty of whether these adjustments would translate from the practice range to the competitive course environment.

Following closely behind was Canada's Nick Taylor, trailing by just one stroke with a solid six-under 66. Meanwhile, Jason Day, Hoge, and Ludvig Åberg found themselves in a group two shots off the pace, each posting opening-round scores of 67.

In terms of WITB, Rory has the ubiquitous TaylorMade Qi10 Driver at 9 degrees with the Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X shaft. Rory also uses the Ventus Black shafts for his 3W and 5W and chooses the Project X 7.0 shaft through his 4 iron and 5 to 9 irons. For his wedges Rory opts for the TaylorMade MG4 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB, 60-08LB) with Project X 6.5, Project X 6.5 Wedge (60) shafts. Without further ado, let’s do a complete overview of Rory’s WITB for The Players Championship 2024:

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 @ 9 degrees with a Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X shaft

3 Wood: TaylorMade Qi10 @ 15 degrees with a Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X shaft

5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 @ 18 degrees with a Fujikura Ventus Black 9 X shaft

4 Iron: TaylorMade P760 with a Project X 7.0 shaft

5-9 Irons: TaylorMade Rors Proto with the Project X 7.0 shafts

Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB, 60-08LB) with Project X 6.5, Project X 6.5 Wedge (60) shafts

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X with a SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol Tour grip