Scottie Scheffler falls foul of same PGA Championship golden rule as Rory McIlroy

Scottie Scheffler had to abruptly ditch his trusty driver after it failed pre-tournament tests just before securing the third major win of his impressive career at the PGA Championship. The No. 1 overcame the setback in remarkable fashion to win the PGA Championship by five strokes on Sunday.

, who similarly swapped out his driver, suffered a stark contrast in performance, faltering from the tee and finishing well behind the victorious . The Masters champion notably did not speak with the press throughout the as he grappled with his game.

Yet Scheffler remained unfazed, admitting he was "prepared" for such an event – his driver failing the routine checks by USGA – having wielded the club for more than a year. He also advocated for a revamp of the testing criteria, following a statement from the PGA of America regarding McIlroy's equipment switch.

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Faced with questions about the status of his club during a press conference, Scheffler confirmed that his driver had been tested and been found to fall short of the tournament rules. Shedding light on the incident, Scheffler said: "So the driver testing is something that regularly happens on Tour.

"My driver did fail me this week. We had a feeling that it was going to be coming because I've used that driver for over a year. I was kind of fortunate for it to last that long, I felt like."

He further called for a stricter approach to the testing of drivers, suggesting the current methodology wasn't thorough enough. "I would argue that if we're going to test the drivers, we need to be even more robust in the way we test them," he explained.

"That was a conversation I had with one of the rules officials; if it's something we're going to take seriously, I feel like we're almost going halfway with it right now.

"If we're going to test only a third of the field. If we're going to do it right, leave it up to us as players, like the rest of the rules in the game of are."

He further emphasised the need to improve this relatively new rule, saying, "It's a newer rule that we haven't quite gotten right yet. I think we have some stuff to figure out.

"I think, if we're going to do it, we might as well do it right, get more robust and get even more strict. You can test guys every week, if you want. I mean, there's no reason why we shouldn't."

When questioned about the possible effects on his preparation, Scheffler responded: "Oh, no. The driver for me is actually really easy. Like I said, we were prepared for it.

"I had used my driver for over a year. With the amount of practice that I do, I felt like I was fortunate for it to last that long.

"The team at TaylorMade, Adrian, did a really good job – actually the week of the Byron, we were really focused on getting it back up for that tournament and this one. Adrian, he did a great job getting me fit for a head. Like I said, we were really prepared. So it wasn't that big of a deal."