World number one Rory McIlroy has labelled the US Golf Association’s plan to ban belly and broome-handle putters as a “knee jerk reaction”.
The Northern Irishman spoke about the putter saga which has divided golf in the past few months, with suggestions the European and US Tours could go down different paths.
“I sort of think it was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction to how much success people were having with it,” McIlroy said.
“I’m all for people enjoying the game and trying to make the game as easy as possible and bringing people to the game, and if that means they should allow anchored putters to make it easier for the general public then that’s a good thing.
“But then they talk about bifurcation, whether you should have one set of rules for us and one set for the amateurs and it’s just a bit of a mess and opened a can of worms.
“If it were up to me I would just (follow) whatever decision the USGA comes to … maybe the pressure that the PGA Tour has put on them might change their minds and (make them) rethink.
“And if they do that, then that’s totally fine with me.”