USGA CEO Mike Whan defended the recent driver testing that reportedly ensnared two of the game’s biggest stars at the PGA Championship.
Both Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy’s drivers reportedly failed USGA equipment testing ahead of the second men’s major of the year at Quail Hollow. Scheffler confirmed that he had to swap out driver heads before he went on to claim his third career major title while McIlroy didn’t speak to the media regarding his apparent failed test and use of a backup driver, as reported by SiriusXM.
The PGA of America confirmed that it had conducted driver testing on about a third of the PGA field but did not specify the players involved. It added in a statement that neither the PGA nor the USGA had “any concerns about player intent” because drivers can become nonconforming through repeated use, oftentimes without a player’s knowledge.
“PGA Championship week was not an abnormal week, an abnormal approach,” Whan told reporters Tuesday ahead of the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills. “One of the reasons, honestly, we keep that confidential is because of what happened. Everyone starts talking about there was this incredible moment.
“The PGA Tour has asked us, as did the PGA of America, to help them with that. It’s difficult for a player to know. It’s even difficult for a manufacturer to keep a calibrated machine that will calibrate with us. So we provide that service to them just so they know when it’s over.”
Players receive a green, yellow or red grade after testing – with the latter two suggesting that a switch to a backup head is either imminent or mandatory. Scheffler, for instance, said that he knew his driver face was nearing the legal limit and had his equipment manufacturers prepare a backup for him in case of a failed test.
PGA Tour veteran Lucas Glover, appearing on his radio show, suggested that players can exploit a loophole in the system by having their backup driver head get tested while they put a different one in play in tournament competition. But Whan said that the USGA tracks serial numbers on the clubs and that “90% of the drivers that were given to us in those practice facilities when we test are played on the first tee, and we expect 10% of players to be making changes anyway.
“I don’t think that’s a real concern for us,” Whan said. “The biggest thing is we try to keep the whole testing process kind of low key because players know it’s coming. They see us coming. They give us the driver if we tell them. …
“It seemed like a big week to everybody else, but for us it was a pretty standard week. We’ve tested a lot of Tour events and other majors, so it wasn’t that abnormal for us. It just seemed to get abnormal coverage.”
One event where drivers aren’t tested is at this week’s U.S. Women’s Open. Whan said there’s three reasons for that: They haven’t noticed the driver creep significantly in the women’s game; they don’t test regularly out on tour; and the women’s game doesn’t have the same manufacturing resources available on-site to replace a failed head during tournament week.
