Rory McIlroy gets putter shortened before third round of FedEx St. Jude Championship

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Rory McIlroy debuted a new putter this week but found after the first two rounds of the FedEx St. Jude Championship that a slight adjustment was needed.

Just one problem. The equipment trucks that service players’ clubs leave town each Wednesday afternoon to head for their next destination.

So what did McIlroy do when he realized his new flatstick was slightly too long? His caddie, Harry Diamond, took the club to a local equipment shop for a quick fix.

“I always put my right hand on my putter first,” McIlroy said. “I just felt like where my right hand was at the top, it just felt a little too up. I compared it to my Spider last night, it was like half an inch. It wasn't like a huge difference. But Harry took it to a local golf shop and got it cut down last night for me.”

McIlroy placed heavier tungsten weights in the sole of the putter to counteract the weight lost when the shaft was shortened.

McIlroy shot 68 on Saturday and will enter the final round in sixth place, five shots behind leader Lucas Glover. Through three rounds, McIlroy ranks 40th in the 70-man field in Strokes Gained: Putting, losing 0.6 strokes. He was right around 0.0 strokes gained on the greens in the third round.

“Overall I feel like I've sort of been stuck in neutral a little bit this week, and I'm still in a decent position,” said McIlroy, the defending FedExCup champion. “Five back going into tomorrow, I feel like I could catch fire and hopefully make a run.”

McIlroy said he switched to the Scotty Cameron Phantom X 5.5 this week just to give himself something new to look at on the greens.

“It was zero testing process,” he said. “It was go into the garage and see what I had and just pull a couple out and go have a few putts. That was it.”

Perhaps a slight modification could spark a Sunday charge for the only man to win three FedExCups.