Rory McIlroy Adds TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper for RBC Heritage

Ahead of the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links, Rory McIlroy has made a notable equipment change to his golf bag. The world’s fourth-ranked player has added TaylorMade’s new BRNR Mini Driver Copper 13.5-degree club and removed his 3-wood.

Harbour Town’s relatively short, tight, and winding layout presents a unique challenge on the PGA TOUR, requiring precise course management and ball positioning off the tee. While long hitters can succeed, it’s not a typical “bomb-and-gauge” course, as errant tee shots can easily leave players in difficult positions.

In preparation for the event, McIlroy has been testing the new BRNR Mini Driver Copper, which features a head shape similar to a driver but a smaller size, offering more spin and workability compared to a driver, along with greater distance and forgiveness than a 3-wood.

Adrian Rietveld, TaylorMade’s senior manager of Tour, described the BRNR Mini Driver as a “nice course-specific golf club” for a player of McIlroy’s caliber, who can take advantage of its ability to shape shots both right-to-left and left-to-right on the tight Harbour Town layout.

Rietveld noted that McIlroy had been testing the BRNR Mini Driver prior to the Valero Texas Open and had it in his bag during practice rounds for the Masters, though he opted not to use it during the tournament itself, sticking with his TaylorMade Qi10 3-wood.

This week, however, the BRNR Mini Driver is expected to be in McIlroy’s starting lineup when he tees off at 1:40 PM on Thursday. When asked about his plans to use the new club, the Northern Irishman said, “I think so.”

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