Rory McIlroy tried out Bryson DeChambeau's unique irons
Rory McIlroy's curiosity was piqued, and Saturday was the perfect chance to scratch that itch.
Just ahead of the start of the third round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship on Saturday, McIlroy tried out the unique iron set of reigning U.S. Amateur champion and McIlroy's third-round playing partner Bryson DeChambeau.
DeChambeau, who led after Round 1 in Abu Dhabi, does not have the typical bag setup of...well, any player. All of his irons are the same length -- 37.5 inches, that of a 7-iron -- and have the same shaft, grip, lie angle and bounce. The idea is to make the same swing with every iron, not having to change through the bag.
However, McIlroy didn't just walk up to the SMU physics major and self-described Golf Scientist. He did it on the down-low.
“I was having a little go with his clubs this morning,” McIlroy said, according to Golfweek. “He doesn’t know that. It’s obviously a technique that’s all his own and he’s got a pretty interesting background. He’s obviously a great player, plays really, really well and playing well this week."
The four-time major champion hadn't played with the native Californian before Saturday. Competitively, McIlroy had little idea of what DeChambeau brought to the table. However, he knew one thing was clear:
“I don’t really know much about him except that he’s much smarter than I am.”
Then again, McIlroy has four majors and is worth $400 million. Smart can be overrated.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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