Speaking at the Barbados Legends hosted by Ian Woosnam, former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley believes Rory McIlroy is now perfectly placed to build on his Masters win and challenge for more Majors – with PGA Championship venue Quail Hollow suiting the Northern Irishman perfectly.
The PGA Championship is at Quail Hollow and Rory has quite a record there. People are wondering whether a career Grand Slam could now lead to the calendar Grand Slam. What do you think of his chances?
Well, I mean the odds of that happening are very slim. The competition at the top of the game is so good. So many guys are capable of winning Major Championships now. Rory has won four times around Quail Hollow and I think he’s been second as well. So it’s a golf course that suits him and he’s got some advantages around there too. He can drive it across corners and take advantage. He obviously likes it and it sets up well for him. He went head-to-head with Xander last year and beat him very impressively, with brilliant golf. But of course, the expectation is huge – just when you get over one hurdle, the expectation is back on his shoulders now. But I think it’ll be a little bit less given the fact that he’s won a Major Championship and, more importantly, completed the Grand Slam. It may well open the door, but it’s not a given in any way. There’s a lot of competition at the top of the game, he’s going to have to play really well, and he needs a little bit of luck. You do need a little bit of luck to get over the line. He hasn’t really had it in Majors over the last few years, and the ball kind of bounced the wrong way at the wrong time for him. But at the Masters it did. I’m sure he would give up all of those near misses for completing the Grand Slam and the Masters as well, with that monkey now off his back.
What do you think is a realistic Major target for him?
Well, I think passing Nick Faldo is the first thing. If he gets to seven Majors, that’s a phenomenal career, including a Grand Slam. So he’s got two more to go to surpass Nick. It’s still a big ask. It’s not a given. These Majors are not easily won. There’s so many guys capable of doing it now, so many guys not afraid of getting the job done when they get in contention. He’s going to have to play really well, but he does have two good chances this year. And he’s pretty good when he’s got unfinished business, which Portrush certainly is. He felt he let everybody down the last time, when Shane won around there in 2019, so he’ll be coming out with something to prove there. He’ll have a little bit less weight on the shoulders and I think he’ll enjoy it a bit more this time. He’s also proved that he can play in windy conditions now, something he wasn’t able to do before. He’s now shown that he can play on the back foot and when golf courses are set up difficult. So he’s a more complete player than he’s ever been before. He’s more equipped to win more Majors than he’s ever been before. And if the ambition stays strong, there’s no reason why he can’t surpass Nick and get to seven or maybe even more.
How impressed are you by what Rory was able to achieve at the Masters, completing the career Grand Slam?
Yeah, it was tremendous as he was under a lot of pressure. He won that tournament three times. Won it. Lost it. Won it. Lost it and then won it at the end. I felt sorry for Justin, as a European as well and coming to the twilight of his career, but there was a huge thing in his way, and it was Rory McIlroy, and it was history and it was the Grand Slam. Maybe the golfing gods, particularly in Augusta, shone a little bit brighter on Rory because of that. He did really well, it was an unbelievable show of character, to keep coming back the way he did. I’m delighted for him.
It’s great for Rory, great for European golf, great for golf in general. I think we needed a feel-good story. There’s been a lot of disharmony in the game in the last two or three years, and it’s great that we’ve got something really positive coming out of it, and that Rory is the guy to do it. There’s been a lot of weight on his shoulders over the last few years, a lot of criticism has come his way when he hasn’t been able to get over the line in these Majors.
Where do you think that achievement sits now?
I think he’s moved himself apart from the likes of Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, you know, all of those great players in the last number of years, including maybe even Nick Faldo, because he’s done a Grand Slam. It’s huge. I’ve said that for a number of years. Only six players have done it – and in the last 59 years only one player has done it. And that’s Tiger Woods. I think it moves him into a different place. You’ve sat the four exams that Major Championships are and completed them. It’s a very, very rare feat, particularly in modern times with the competition you have. It’s something really special.
And looking ahead to the Ryder Cup at Bethpage in September. We know what gargantuan challenge is to go over to America and win. What are your thoughts?
I think it’s really, really difficult. It’s probably the toughest test an away team is ever going to face, going into New York, you know, the hotbed of, of America, with very noisy and very patriotic fans. We know that America’s got a lot of strength in the team. We know that Zander and Scotty, for example, are going to get better as the season goes on and may well be coming into the prime of their form when it comes around to the Ryder Cup. It’s going to be a formidable test, both against the team and against the crowd.
Playing away from home is never easy but we’ve had some good early-season form. Can we sustain that now for the next three or four months leading into September? There’s a lot of golf to be played between now and then, hopefully the players can hold the form. I have a lot of trust and confidence in Luke. I know he’ll make good decisions. I know he’ll have the team unbelievably well prepared, and I really do feel that we’re going to be the best prepared that Europe has ever been before going in to face this huge test that Bethpage is going to be. So it should be a brilliant Ryder Cup – it could be the greatest Ryder Cup ever.
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