Sir Nick Faldo has won more major titles than any European golfer. Colin Montgomerie has won eight European Tour Achievement Awards. The spirit of Seve Ballesteros and what he meant to European golf lives on.
However, when it comes to Europe’s greatest golfers, there is no doubt in my mind that Rory McIllorory ranks at the top of the list.
Faldo may be able to win one more major, but the fact that Lowry is a Grand Slam winner is what keeps him going. McIlroy has passed four major tests and is a complete player.
Many players, great players, have made it to three of the four majors and the pressure of winning the last one was too difficult for them to overcome, but not Rory.
He showed his mental resilience in the same way he achieved the Grand Slam at Augusta this year. Keep coming back, keep knocking on the door, get closer and closer, and eventually cross the line. To me, that’s what made him the most successful.
But it’s even bigger than that. He is one of the greatest athletes we have ever seen in any sport. In my opinion, that’s how high the bar has been set by Rory McIlroy.
I know that in Northern Ireland we think very highly of George Best. I put him there with George Best. And certainly, as someone who wears golf goggles, I consider him better than George Best because of what he’s accomplished on the world stage.
George Best was great, but he never had the opportunity to play in a World Cup or win a World Cup. Despite his success with Manchester United, it’s hard to say he was the greatest footballer of all time.
But in the case of Rory McIlroy, I would have to say he is on par with some of the very elite players who are in the top five to have ever played the game of golf. And that to me makes him an elite sportsman and one of the greatest sportsmen of all time.
What’s next for McIlroy?
We talked a lot about Rory McIlroy. When he’s emotionally committed to something, that’s when he’s at his best.
Winning the Masters and winning the Ryder Cup on the road were the two big things he wanted to do at the beginning of the year.
As he approaches his late 30s, the big challenge for him is whether he can maintain that motivation despite everything he has achieved in the game.
The Order of Merit is indeed a living thing. That will continue to burn as he wants to overtake Monty and become the man with the most Order of Merit titles.
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Relive an incredible year with Rory McIlroy’s wins at the Masters, Ryder Cup, Irish Open, Players Championship, and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
But in terms of Rory being the number one player in the game again, I don’t know if that’s going to happen. Scotty Scheffler is very consistent, and it seems like his consistency and monotony allow him to win five or six times each year on the PGA Tour.
Note that world rankings do not necessarily represent who people think are the best players in the game. These are based on two years of performance, week in and week out, and never once dipped. That’s the great thing about Scotty Scheffler.
Rory is a bit on and off, and that’s what makes him so appealing.
Despite this, he remains No. 2 in the world and his primary goal will be to equal or even surpass Nick Faldo for more major championships as he aims to become the European with the most major titles in history.
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Relive an incredible year with Rory McIlroy’s wins at the Masters, Ryder Cup, Irish Open, Players Championship, and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
McIlroy is now a ‘complete player’
A couple of years ago at this time, we all looked at Lowry and thought he wasn’t hitting his wedge shots close enough, he wasn’t making the putts he should, he wasn’t capitalizing on his opportunities.
But right now he is a truly complete player. Find the weaknesses in Rory’s game.
Sure, he’s been a little back and forth mentally in terms of engagement, and sometimes he loses focus and makes the odd mistake, but in terms of the quality of his play right now, it’s very hard to find any weaknesses throughout the bag.
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