Heading into the weekend, it was reported that McIlroy had to switch out his driver because his regular driver was deemed non-conforming to USGA standards. While the PGA and USGA dismissed that anything nefarious was behind a non-conforming test result, McIlroy's absence for four consecutive days of media was not a great look for him.

Rory McIlroy suffered an unfortunate break right before the PGA Championship when he learned the driver he planned to use in the tournament was deemed "no longer permissible" and he was forced to make a change.