When Tiger Woods announced his injury would keep him from taking the field at Oakmont this year, it was a huge disappointment. But just because he’s not playing doesn’t mean he can’t influence the tournament—this time, he’s chosen to back the most talked-about player of the moment, and that’s Rory McIlroy. Let’s be real, after all the controversies McIlroy has faced, fans didn’t expect this either.

“One thing I have always admired over the years is I love how strong your face is at address, I love that,” said Woods during the shooting of a video where McIlroy and he gave an insightful session on how to hit the driver. Coming from a legend in the driver game, it adds so much more value. It shows how solid and stable his setup is before hitting the ball. In golf, a strong face at address means the clubface is square or slightly closed, which helps with powerful, controlled drives—something Rory is well known for.

“I’ve always loved that because if I have a strong face at address… if I feel strength through the clubface through the swing, I have to use my body to clear,” McIlroy replied. He explained that when he feels that strength, it forces him to rotate his body properly through impact, which keeps his swing synced and powerful. And that’s not the first time Woods and McIlroy have had a conversation about Rory’s driver technique—they’ve talked before about how the face should be “just slightly dangly.”

Well, this was a good break from the driver issues that have plagued McIlroy. “The PGA was a bit of a weird week. I didn’t play well the first day, so I wanted to go practise… The driver news broke. I didn’t really want to speak on that,” said McIlroy at the PGA Championship. McIlroy had to change the head of his driver because it failed a test by the USGA (United States Golf Association), which found the club to be non-conforming. This is not happening for the first time—he has a weird relationship with drivers.

Not only this, but the same happened at the Canadian Open. “It concerns me… I came here obviously with a new driver, thinking that that sort of was going to be good and solve some of the problems off the tee, but it didn’t,” said Mcllroy He tried using a shorter 44-inch driver to gain more control and consistency, but it didn’t quite deliver the results he wanted, as he missed the cut at the tournament with quite poor scores, finishes 9 under par and missed cut on the second round. All the controversy does not seem to bother Woods at all.

That much-needed shot of confidence may have come at the right time, but is McIlroy really set for the Oakmont test?

Can McIlroy’s Driver Strategy Deliver at Oakmont?

Just hours before the U.S. Open, McIlroy reflected on his driver setup and growing confidence, saying, “I feel like now I can go to places and be like ‘Oh no, I can.’ You can win on any venue you want, yeah, because you have all the shots. I believe I can.” The same driver strategy may not have worked at the RBC Canadian Open, but it’s the one that helped him seal the career Grand Slam at the Masters. And he has Woods patting him on the shoulder.

“Yes, you can. Good stuff,” Tiger said with a smile on his face and eyes filled with nothing but pride, giving him the kind of nod that hits different when it comes from a 15-time major champ. Now, McIlroy has made his fifth driver change of the year, going back to his older TaylorMade Qi10, which had helped him win the Pebble Beach Pro-Am earlier in the season. With Tiger’s nod and his trusted driver back in the bag, McIlroy seems locked in—but will it all click when Oakmont turns brutal? We’re about to find out.