Rory McIlroy Prevails in Playoff to Capture Second Players Championship with TP5 and Spider Tour X
After erasing a four-shot final round deficit to make a Monday morning three-hole aggregate playoff at TPC Sawgrass, Rory McIlroy wasted no time to put his stamp on securing his second Players Championship.
McIlroy drove his TP5 golf ball 336 yards and then two putted for birdie from nearly 34-feet on the first playoff hole on the Par 5 16th. Two holes later, McIlroy tapped in on the 18th green to secure his 28th career PGA TOUR victory (T-20 all-time).
- McIlroy is the 8th player to win two or more Players Championships
- First European to win multiple Players Championships
- He becomes the 22nd player to reach 28 career TOUR wins all-time
- The win marks his 15th PGA TOUR victory when trailing entering the final round (third most since 1995)
- It is his ninth PGA TOUR season with multiple wins (most since 2012)
- The Players marks his seventh tour event with multiple wins
This week at TPC Sawgrass, McIlroy finished fifth in Strokes Gained: Approach with his TP5 golf ball, which is a fitting statistic once you understand the backstory of why he switched to TP5 in the first place.
Prior to his win at Pebble Beach, Rory played a practice round at Michael Jordan's course, The Grove. At the short game area, he hit a few shots with TP5 and was intrigued by the feel and control around the greens.
He subsequently progressed from testing short wedge shots to full iron shots and found that his launch angle was a degree lower with spin rates the same as his TP5x. He also maintained ball speed with his driver.
Fast forward to Pebble Beach and he put TP5 in play. And well, we all know what happened there. . .
"I sort of stumbled upon (TP5). I just started to hit some chip shots with the TP5 instead of the TP5x and I really loved how it felt. I hadn't really tested the 2024 TP5 and I loved how it was reacting around the green. Then I started hitting some 60, 70-yard shots with and it was coming off much lower launch but spinnier."Rory McIlroy
CONTINUED SPIDER SUCCESS
We dubbed 2024 The Year of Spider with good reason. And so far in 2025, Rory is continuing that trend with wins at Pebble Beach, and now at the Players Championship. After finishing seventh in Strokes Gained: Putting (4.303) at the AT&T, he was 10th in Strokes Gained: Putting for the tournament. This is McIlroy's second consecutive week finishing inside the Top 10 of Strokes Gained: Putting.
Let's have a closer look at Rory's Spider Tour X Spec:
- HOSEL: Short Slant
- SIGHT LINE: Full Line
- INSERT: Pure Roll
- FINISH: Torched
- SHAFT: Black Stepless
- LENGTH: 34.5" EOG
- LOFT: 3°
- LIE: 69.5°
- SWING WEIGHT: E0
- GRIP: SuperStroke Pistol Tour
- WRAPS: 1
Designed by the venerable Pete Dye, the green surrounds at TPC Sawgrass leave players with some of the most awkward short game shots they face all year on TOUR. As such, Rory's MG4 61° LB wedge proved a pivotal weapon at the Players Championship.
"Rory wants to stick with one wedge and this one by far is the most versatile," said Keith Sbarbaro, TaylorMade's Vice President of Tour Operations. It's low bounce doesn't catch in grainy, closely mown surrounds. It also gives Rory plenty of spin, especially on shots from 40-70 yards where he relies on MG4's first hop predictability to control distance.
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