Five years later, McIlroy’s excitement hasn’t waned, leading to another multi-year contract with the company to plays its clubs and ball, including its new Stealth Plus carbonwood driver.
“Over the last several years I have had the chance to work with the best equipment company in golf,” McIlroy said in a statement released by TaylorMade. “Today, I am excited to announce TaylorMade clubs will be staying in my bag for many years to come.”
A 20-time PGA Tour winner and four-time Major champion, McIlroy has seven wins since joining TaylorMade, including the Tour Championship, Players Championship, the WGC–HSBC Champions and the 2019 PGA Tour Player of the Year award. A former world No.1 as recently as 2019, McIlroy is currently one of four TaylorMade staff players in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking, joining Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa and Johnson.
“Rory is undeniably one of the most captivating players in our game and truly one of the great human beings in the sports world,” said David Abeles, TaylorMade president and chief executive. “We have been fortunate to get a first-hand look at Rory’s approach to his game and the championship mindset that helps fuel his success… Rory’s decision to continue to put his trust in our company has us inspired to push the limits of performance even further.”
Although without a Major title since 2014, McIlroy is one of six players to win 20 PGA Tour events and four Majors before age 33, joining Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Tiger Woods.
But perhaps the re-upping with TaylorMade shows that McIlroy, who turns 33 today, remembered an important message in the past five years. In 2017 he said, “If I learned anything it was that no matter how much you try to fit yourself to the golf club, it should always be the other way around… That was the biggest thing I learned from [my time with Nike].”
It was a lesson that resonates still today.