Former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley believes Rory McIlroy has become average compared to the top three golfers in the world rankings.
Long touted as an exceptional talent, McGinley says McIlroy has been caught by the pack, led by Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas.
It has been four years since the Ulsterman's last major victory.
He finished 14 shots behind the winner at the US PGA Championship on Sunday and McGinley feels McIlroy is missing the X-factor.
"Look at Dustin Johnson with his wedges, Brooks Koepka with his putter, and Justin Thomas the same. These guys are fabulous – absolutely fabulous. Rory is only average. Sometimes the putting is good, but the wedge play is not great. Then the wedge play is not so bad, but the putting is off. Those scoring clubs are absolutely paramount, for a start," he told Off The Ball.
"The other thing is that this perception that if Rory plays his best, then he wins. That is not applicable any more. There are three guys that are better than Rory, if they are on their game – Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson.
"They have that extra gear that Rory used to have. Like Tiger having to box clever, Rory has to box clever – he’s coming up to 30 years of age. You have three guys that can hit the ball just as far and just as straight as him, and have just as much ability to perform under pressure as Rory has had."
Digital Desk
