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Rory McIlroy's sudden change in the putter at this week's FedEx St.Jude Championship would have created an issue in the Northern Irish golfer's game if it would not have been sorted on time. McIlroy is eschewing the TaylorMade spider putter for a Scotty Cameron Phantom X 5.5 for this week's event.
Before the third round began, McIlroy's caddie, Harry Diamond, went to Edwin Watts Golf Shop in East Memphis for some last-minute tweaks to the golfer's putter. Initially, the shop employee, Jim Hudson, waved off McIlroy's crew, but after learning who the owner was, Hudson came to the golfer's aid.
Hudson worked to cut the grip of Scotty Cameron to make it of the same length as Spyder putter and within 10 minutes he handed the golf gear to Diamond.
Speaking of the changes made to the putter, Jim Hudson said via USA Today Sports:
"Knowing it was Rory’s putter, knowing the stakes they’re playing for, you take a little extra time to make sure it’s perfect. Usually you measure twice and cut once. For this, I measured twice and cut twice, so I didn’t cut too much at first. But the most stressful part was getting the new grip on straight.”
“I still can’t believe I really just cut down Rory’s putter during a playoff event,” he added.
Hudson has extensive experience designing golf equipment. He has been with Edwin Watts Golf for about two decades.
Rory McIlroy began the third round of the St.Jude Championship on Saturday, August 12, with a birdie on the first hole, thanks to new putter adjustments.
Rory McIlroy's performance at the 2023 FedEx St.Jude Championship
McIlroy has been in excellent form this season. He won the Scottish Open last month before heading to compete at the 2023 FedEx Playoffs.
McIlroy played with full confidence in the playoffs and finished with a score of 67. He started the first round of the tournament with a birdie in the third hole. Rory McIlroy carded three birdies and two bogeys on the front nine and one birdie on the back nine along with one eagle and bogey to score 67.
On Friday, August 11, McIlroy registered a birdie in the first hole before making another birdie on the fourth followed by a bogey on the fifth. He made another birdie on the eighth hole and with two more birdies on the back nine, she finished with a score of 66.
Rory McIlroy started the third round of the St.Jude Championship with a birdie on the first hole and then went on to make three birdies and one bogey on the front nine of the third round and added three more birdies on the back nine to score 68. He made four bogeys and six birdies on Saturday, August 13 to score 68.
Lucas Glover topped the leaderboard of the playoff event after 54 holes. He settled with a score of under 14.
