They wanted him to stick to the time-honored straddle method of going over the high bar leg first, face down.

NEWYORKER: Personal Best

Worse still, in a desperate attempt to make the weekend, McIlroy gave up on his new sponsor's putter the Nike Method and went back to his tried and trusted short stick, one designed by Scotty Cameron and made by Nike's archrival of the golf manufacturing world, Titleist.

WSJ: Rory McIlroy, Nike Hoping for Long-Term Benefit