Rory McIlroy has responded to a fan’s request on social media, offering to send him one of his clubs after the four-time Major was asked if he would mind parting with his driver.

Barry Edwards posted to the Northern Irishman on Facebook that "I still need a new driver" and to his amazement, McIlroy immediately responded, asking for his fan's address and telling him that he would ship the Nike Covert driver out to him, explaining that it had "served me well" but that he couldn't "guarantee 320-yard drives though."

McIlroy used the driver in question throughout the 2014 season, which was his most successful year to date. He has since upgraded to a new model but appears in little mood to be sentimental over a club model with which he won both The Open and the PGA Championship.

McIlroy, who recently finished joint sixth at the Turkish Airlines Open, has 964,000 followers on Facebook and regularly replies directly to fans. The former world No1 is in Shanghai this week competing at the WGC-HSBC Champions event.

(Guardian service)