McIlroy putting faith in change of blade

Rory McIlroy might have changed his putter three times in as many days but he headed for the Irish Open with hope in his heart after closing with a six-under 64 in the Travelers Championship in Connecticut.

Out in the fifth group in perfect conditions on a course featuring two short par-fives and three driveable par-fours, the world No 3 made just two significant putts all day — a nine footer at the third and a 15 footer at the 11th — in a 30-putt round.

“I couldn’t have done any worse than what I’ve done in the first three days,” McIlroy said of his putting and the switch from Saturday’s TaylorMade Mullen to the blade style TaylorMade Juno prototype for the final round having ditched the Red Spider Tour model he put in play for the US Open after Friday’s second round.