Rory McIlroy told what he needs to win another major in blunt warning

Paul McGinley reckons that Rory McIlroy needs to overcome a mental hurdle to secure his fifth major championship, following the Northern Irish golfer’s 10-year dry spell which continued at the US Open last Sunday.

McIlroy narrowly missed out on a second US Open title at Pinehurst, losing to Bryson DeChambeau after a thrilling final round. Going into the fourth day, McIlroy was trailing DeChambeau by three shots but managed to fight back and lead by two with just five holes remaining.

However, the final stretch proved disastrous for the 35-year-old, as he bogeyed three of his last five holes, including two harsh missed putts from close range on the 16th and 18th.

The first of these saw McIlroy miss a putt from less than three feet for the first time this season, having successfully made the previous 496 attempts from that distance. He then missed another attempt from a similar distance at the final hole, after initially putting himself in a difficult position with his driver from the tee box.

In the aftermath, McIlroy’s loss has been heavily scrutinized, and his former Ryder Cup captain McGinley believes it was due to his mental game rather than his golf swing. ” He has had chances to win three majors in the last two years since St Andrews with Cam Smith, and he has not lost them because his swing deserted him,” McGinley said while appearing on the Golf Channel.

“He lost them because his putting went slow and when he had opportunities he didn’t seize the initiative. Last year at the U.S. Open he came back in one-over-par. It is like when he gets to this stage, and you saw him at Quail Hollow [Wells Fargo Championship] and he just takes the opportunity, he runs off into the distance and kills the opposition and wins.

He knows how to do it. There is enough golf game there to run off into the sunset and win tournaments.

The difference in major championships is when the initiative is presented to him, he doesn’t run off. The initiative today was presented on the back of 13, when he made birdie to go shots ahead.

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“”He played 14 really poorly, 15 really poorly, 16, 17 and 18 really poorly. That was the period of time to run off into the distance.

Mentally he got onto the precipice of winning this tournament and instead of driving over the line he hesitated. ” McGinley’s point came after he disagreed with fellow analyst Brandel Chamblee, who felt McIlroy’s downfall came due to a swing issue.

Chamblee highlighted McIlroy’s lack of impact when hitting into greens, noting his failure to make a significant contribution in the strokes gained approach category throughout the week. After DeChambeau’s winning putt at Pinehurst, McIlroy left immediately and only broke his silence with a statement on Monday.

He congratulated his rival and announced he would be taking a break until the Scottish Open next month.

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