Rory McIlory hitting a TaylorMade SIM Max hybrid. (Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports)

McIlroy has been one of the game’s elite iron players for more than a decade, but at Torrey Pines he used a new 19-degree TaylorMade SIM Max rescue club, saying it was great out of thick rough and allowed him to hit the ball higher and land it softer on the greens.

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