There was something wrong with Rory McIlroy's new putter and he didn't notice

Rory McIlroy revealed the new putter he put into play for the FedEx St. Jude Championship was half an inch longer than his usual Spider - and he didn't even notice until he played 36 holes. 

McIlroy, 34, usually games a TaylorMade Spider X but decided to try out what looked like a Scotty Cameron Phantom X 5.5 at TPC Memphis. 

"I may go back, I just wanted to freshen it up," he told reporters before the first leg of the 2023 FedEx Cup playoffs.

• Best golf putters 2023 - buyer's guide and what you need to know

McIlroy finds himself in T-6 after three rounds, trailing leader Lucas Glover by five having posted rounds of 67, 66 and 68. 

It is a scorable course and McIlroy will need a low one if he is to catch Glover, who is looking for back-to-back wins on the PGA Tour. 

Justin Rose flirted with a 59 on day three, but ultimately finished with two pars to card a superb, bogey-free 9-under 61

"He's playing great," said McIlroy. "[He] obviously played great last week. He's a new man with that new putter."

McIlroy revealed he cut the Scotty Cameron down half an inch after realising the difference in length after 36 holes. 

He said: 

Scroll down... 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by PGA TOUR (@pgatour)

Glover, sitting on 14-under, leads Taylor Moore by one going into the final round. 

England's Tommy Fleetwood is solo third on 12-under after carding his third consecutive round of 66. 

Max Homa and Jordan Spieth are also well positioned with 18 holes remaining, sitting on 11-under. 

Patrick Cantlay, McIlroy, Tom Kim, Emiliano Grillo and Sungjae Im round off the top-10. 

The winner will scoop $3.6m this week. Only 50 of the 70 competing advance to the next leg - the BMW Championship in Chicago - before the field is reduced once again to 30 for the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake. 

Watched our latest YouTube video?

More news!