He may have had to wait until December 1 for his first win of the year, but Rory McIlroy will take a huge amount of confidence from his Australian Open victory, and it was also a massive shot in the arm for his Nike team as the win came with his new array of equipment.
Ball - Nike RZN Black
"I loved the previous ball that I was playing and the only thing I wanted a little differently was the sound, it sounded a little harder than it felt if that makes sense.
"So I just wanted something that felt similar but sounded a little duller so with this RZN Black they've done a great job with it - it's a more efficient golf ball with the speedlock technology and I'm getting more out of it.
"I'm about half a club longer with the irons and ball speed's up a little bit with the driver too so it's been a great addition."
Putter - Nike Method 006
"I struggled a little bit to start with because the Method technology was just a little different than what I was used to because the ball just rolled so much quicker off the face. The ball was rolling more than skidding along much quicker, so sometimes I'd struggle with the speed a little bit, so I had to tinker with head weights to get the feeling I wanted to.
"Once you get it dialled in though, it's great. It was probably once I found the head weight that I really started to see the benefits of having the ball rolling quicker off the club face. Once you sort that out, you know it rolls truer so you can be a little more feel-oriented, which is what I like."
Irons/Wedges Nike VR Pro Blade
"I really like the sole on the wedges, I probably attack the ball a little bit more steeply than a lot of the guys on tour and I just feel like the clubs exits the turf a lot better than the old ones and cuts through more. I've got a 46, 54 and 60 degree wedge in the bag now which I think gives me all the variations I need.
"As I say with the irons, I'm actually a bit longer with them and the ball. I used to hit six iron about 190 yards and now it's just over 200. That's the thing, I feel like the ball's longer but it's still on the same flight trajectory and I feel like it spins a bit more too, which is a great combination."
