Rory McIlroy has been testing various TaylorMade clubs. The Masters champion recently became part of a TaylorMade content shoot in Jupiter, Florida, where the participants tried new equipment from the company. Interestingly, the event had the golfers trying various challenges, including shooting a flop shot over Tiger Woods.
McIlroy, who is currently in preparation for the Optum Golf Channel Games alongside Scottie Scheffler, recalled his various made-for-TV event experiences. One of them was the event that had him testing prototypes of TaylorMade’s 2026 driver models. Amid the shoot contest, the Northern Irishman attempted a nervous flop shot over Woods, who is still recovering from disc replacement and Achilles surgery in 2025. The 36-year-old joked about the latter’s body being “already banged up.”
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However, the career Grand Slam winner joked that his long-term friend and TGL co-founder Woods is ‘lived another day’ after facing the shot.
Speaking about attempting the risky shot with Tiger Woods for the brand shoot, Rory McIlroy said, as quoted by Golf Channel:
“I was probably as nervous as I’ve been in a long time. His body is already banged up, I didn’t want to add to it… He lived to tell the tale.”
Apart from McIlroy and Woods, the TaylorMade event also featured other brand ambassadors, including European Ryder Cup star Tommy Fleetwood, who used the company equipment during the DP World Tour’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
Rory McIlroy ready for Optum Golf Channel Games
Rory McIlroy made the comments on the TaylorMade content shoot while talking about his upcoming made-for-TV adventure. For the unversed, the five-time major champion is set to take on Scottie Scheffler in a four vs four exhibition match at the Optum Golf Channel Games. The All-Star weekend event, taking place December 17 at Trump National Golf Club Jupiter in Jupiter, Florida, will see golfers Drive, Chip and Putt with some extra elements like Golf Channel’s Big Break and a shot clock.
The first-of-its-kind competition will have McIlroy captain a team consisting of Shane Lowry, Luke Donald and Haotong Li. They will face Scheffler’s squad which includes Sam Burns, Luke Clanton and US Ryder Cup team skipper Keegan Bradley. The competitions will have the players indulge in different segments like the 14-club challenge, team relay and captain’s challenge.
Speaking about the upcoming Optum Golf Channel Games, Rory McIlroy said:
“Scottie and I have been a part of some of these (made-for-TV) matches before, and you know, they’re great and hopefully they’ve provided some entertainment, but I just think this is an opportunity to do something different…
Sort of lean into other sports in a way, like the NFL Combine, or the 3-Point Contest in basketball, or the Home Run Derby in baseball. It’s just a chance to try something new, try something different. And I think we’ve put together a collection of pretty good players, different personalities, different skillsets, and I think it’s going to be really cool to see us go up against each other in some of these different challenges.”
Interestingly, the event’s challenges include players try and clear a 10-foot flop wall popularized by Big Break, a show that Scheffler watched growing up. Rory McIlroy’s recent flop shot over Woods at the Taylormade contest can be considered as practice for the same.
Edited by Vishnu Mohan