Rory McIlroy rule violation now explained as PGA Championship release statement

It hasn't been the return to major championship action Rory McIlroy would've been hoping for following his stunning Masters victory last month. Only just making the cut, McIlroy has spent the majority of the weekend hovering around the even par mark, with an overwhelming feeling of frustration having marred his Qual Hollow outing.

There's certainly a feeling of 'too much too soon' as far as McIlroy is concerned, given the 35-year-old took some time out of the Tour following his Augusta National heroics, even returning back home to celebrate the win with his family. As he trudged around the Quail Hollow course - one that has treated him so well in the past - during Sunday's final round, it was clear by that point he was just going through the motions.

However, there's no denying that preparations would've been hindered, not only by his trip back to Northern Ireland, but also an eleventh-hour call to deem his driver illegal. in the build-up to the year's second major.

After only managing to hit 10 out of 28 fairways following the first three rounds of action, it's evident the last-minute switch impacted McIlroy's game, with the PGA of America releasing a statement explaining the decision. It read: "We can confirm that the USGA was invited to do club testing at the PGA Championship, at the PGA of America's request. That testing program is consistent with the same level of support that the USGA provides to the PGA Tour and other championships, as part of their regular programs for driver testing."

"Finding driver heads that have crept over the line of conformance is not an unusual occurrence, especially for clubs that are hit thousands of times over a long period of time.

"The results are kept confidential to protect players, who are unaware the club has fallen out of conformance and not responsible for it falling out of conformance other than hitting the club thousands of times. Players are simply asked to change heads if necessary, and all do without issue."

It's suggested by that McIlroy was one of 10 players who were asked to change their heads, with the five-time major winner refusing to comment on the driver issue following the opening two rounds. McIlroy will now be hoping he's able to amend the driver issue ahead of next month's US Open, which gets underway on Thursday, 12 June.