MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Rory McIlroy is back where he belongs – atop the Tour’s driving statistics.

Arguably the game’s preeminent driver over the past decade, McIlroy has fallen off in that area as he works through a swing change with coach Pete Cowen. Even when he won in May at the Wells Fargo Championship, he did so with mediocre driving, at least relative to his high standards. That’s continued over the past few months, with little success, as he tried to change shot shapes and rely exclusively on a fade off the tee.  

But through three rounds here at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, McIlroy ranks first in strokes gained: off the tee, once again showing plenty of pop (335.6-yard average on measured holes) with better accuracy than usual (74%).

So, what changed?

McIlroy said he went to a slightly shorter driver after the U.S. Open. The tweaks continued a month later when he adjusted his driver to have a quarter-degree less loft. And then he returned to hitting majestic, high draws, which have been the hallmark of his career.

As he explained Saturday, “I just feel like I’ve got a little more freedom with it. I’m not squeezing it as much; I’m not trying to get on top of it as much as I was. I know what I do well with the driver – I’ve done it my whole career. I turn big, wide, wind up and then hang onto my right side and throw my arms and body at it.

“I was trying to go away from using my talent and my hands and trying to sort of do it all with body turn and try to make it very mechanically efficient. But I came to the realization that I’m pretty good with my hands, and I’m pretty good at matching it up, and it’s OK to rely on your talent. I’ve always been a little uneasy with the ‘talented tag,’ because I feel like I work hard and it was probably a part of my mentality and my ego to go, No, I’m going to drive the ball well with hard work and dedication.

“But if that’s my talent, I may as well use it to the best of my ability.”

And how’d he come to that realization?

“Just from driving it like crap for a while, basically,” he said. “Why don’t I do it like I’ve always done?”

McIlroy has posted back-to-back rounds of 66 at TPC Southwind to slide inside the top 25 in the limited-field event. For as typically impressive as his driving has been, it’s McIlroy’s short game and putter that has let him down through 54 holes. He has lost six shots to the field in those areas.