Rory McIlroy Signs Long-Term Contract to Use TaylorMade Golf Equipment

Rory McIlroy officially has a new full-time club provider. The former world No. 1 and TaylorMade announced a long-term contract agreement Tuesday.

"I've been on Tour 10 years," McIlroy said, per Jason Sobel of ESPN.com. "It's very rare that you get really excited about your equipment, but I am. I feel like it's a new chapter in my life with a lot of stuff going on, but I really feel with the new equipment, as well, it's hopefully going to take me to that next level."

McIlroy, 28, previously used Nike golf clubs. Nike announced it would discontinue manufacturing golf clubs last year, leaving McIlroy, Tiger Woods and a host of others in search of a new endorsement deal.

McIlroy will continue wearing Nike apparel.

Still without a victory in 2017, McIlroy said he began testing equipment—specifically golf balls—after his seventh-place finish in April's Masters Tournament.

"I wasn't really happy with the golf ball I was playing and I needed to do something," he said. "So I sort of went back to the drawing board and tested for about 10 days pretty extensively after Augusta, worked with a lot of different things. ... I tested quite a few balls, and the one that I landed on, that was really it.

"The ball was what led me to this point, because it was like, this is the best ball I've hit in, well, ever. I feel like it's really the best ball for me going forward, and then it was just trying to match everything up to that, and that's why I feel like this is the best way forward."

McIlroy, the 2016 FedEx Cup champion, has not won a major since the 2014 PGA championship. He'll compete in The Players Championship this week, which is colloquially known as the sport's fifth major. He'll be looking for his first win at the tournament.

"That could be helpful for around here," McIlroy said of a TaylorMade 1-iron he'll use, which he says can reach 290 yards. "With driver being taken out of you your hands a lot, that could be a club that could work really well around here this week."

McIlroy will carry 14 TaylorMade clubs in his bag for the week.