Padraig Harrington names the PGA Tour superstar who put Rory McIlroy ‘on edge’, he was ‘worried about him’

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Rory McIlroy cemented his position as the best golfer of his generation with his win at The Masters.

By winning The Masters, he entered the incredibly exclusive Grand Slam club, becoming only the sixth man in the history of the game to have won all four majors.

Rory McIlroy is a talent like no other in the modern game – when he’s at his best, he wins, it really is as simple as that.

The Northern Irishman proved on Sunday at Augusta National that he has the mental strength needed to join the true greats of the game.

Rory McIlroy proved Talor Gooch completely wrong with his Masters win, after the American suggested that anyone who wins at Augusta should have an asterisk put above their name, due to certain LIV players missing out.

What rubbish that was from Gooch. LIV Golf had their best in class competing at The Masters, and not a single one of them was a match for Rory.

There is simply no player quite like the 35-year-old right now, what with his prodigious length of the tee and his silky touch around the greens.

Rory’s McIlroy swing is completely unique, in the sense that few have the athleticism to mimic his movement through the ball.

• READ MORE: Rex Hoggard says Rory McIlroy could actually do the ‘unthinkable’ after Masters win but it’s unlikely

Now the challenge for Rory will be to keep on winning and adding to his already impressive tally of majors.

The monkey has finally been lifted off McIlroy’s back, and we can expect to see great things from him moving forward.

The 2025 season in general has immense potential, with Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson set to try and emulate Rory by completing the Grand Slam at The PGA Championship and The US Open respectively.

Now McIlroy has done it, those two players will definitely be inspired to do the same.

Padraig Harrington shares why Jordan Spieth put Rory McIlroy ‘on edge’

Spieth is another golfer with immense talent, and he is similar to Rory in the sense that he has been trying to complete the grand slam for eight years now.

The only difference being that he needs to win the PGA Championship to join the club.

He will definitely be focused on ending his wait at Quail Hollow next month.

Padraig Harrington knows McIlroy very well indeed, and he has opened up on what the Masters winner thought of Spieth.

And he obviously has an inside track into what goes on behind the scenes with the 35-year-old Northern Irishman.

Harrington was speaking on the Indo Sport podcast about Rory’s thrilling victory at The Masters on Sunday.

And the three-time major champion revealed how Spieth had Rory worried when he burst onto the scene:

“As much as Rory’s been the best player for the last 15 years overall, we have had players come and go in that period that have shaken Rory.

“Jordan Spieth, for sure, put Rory on edge. He was worried about [him]. So we’ve had players like that.

“Scottie [Scheffler] and Xander [Schauffele] have both been injured this year. They both haven’t shown the form. So Rory knew he was the man.“

Careers of Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth compared

McIlroy and Spieth have both enjoyed incredible careers already.

The scary thing is that they are just 35 and 31 respectively, with many more years of success lying ahead of them.

Here’s how the two players stack up against one another during their time in the game so far.

Both players will undoubtedly go on to win many more titles throughout their respective careers.

However, the burning question remains – Can Jordan Spieth emulate Rory McIlroy by completing the Grand Slam before his career is done?

Only time will tell, but given the fact that he still has age on his side, there’s every chance he will be able to do just that.