Paul McGinley has followed Rory McIlroy’s career very closely over the past two decades.
As a result, McGinley knows the PGA Tour superstar better than most.
McIlroy has been one of the most successful golfers in the game over the past 15 years, with 29 PGA Tour wins and 20 DP World Tour victories to his name, including five major championships.
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Scottie is the strong favourite…
The Northern Irishman achieved his lifelong ambition in 2025 when he won The Masters and completed the career Grand Slam in the process.
The 36-year-old has been in fine form so far in 2026 and seems to have made some real positive strides with his iron play.
However, McIlroy suffered a back injury last week at Bay Hill and it is still not clear whether or not he will be competing in The Players Championship this week.
If the 2025 Masters champion is fully fit and ready to go at TPC Sawgrass, he will take some beating.
Paul McGinley makes Rory McIlroy claim
McIlroy’s game is more well-rounded now than it was back in 2011.
Sure, he won four majors in a three-year period from 2011 to 2014, but he is definitely a more consistent golfer now.
McGinley was speaking on The Golf Channel’s Live From The Players show on Tuesday and he responded when asked whether he believes McIlroy is a better player now then he was 14 years ago.
“There’s a lot more consistency for me, and there’s a lot more variety of shots,“ McGinley said.
“He’s also better at playing on tricky golf courses, and he’s better in the wind now.
“He controls his ball flight better. I think he’s a better wedge player, a chipper, and particularly a better putter.
“I was watching when he played in the Genesis in LA, and going up that 13th hole around the corner, and to see him hit a tee shot up there 22 feet off the ground.
“This is a guy that normally hits it 130 feet odd up in the air and to see him take it down, he didn’t have that shot in 2011, 2012.
“He didn’t have the little three-quarter wedges like we saw at Pebble Beach last year, going in and controlling the spin on them.
“And for me, with what he’s done with Brad Faxon, he’s a far superior and more consistent putter than he was. He relied a lot on confidence back then.
“So for me, he’s a much more complete player, and I’ll argue that point very strongly.“
Rory McIlroy will retire as a true legend of the game
McIlroy has only won one major championship since 2014 and that didn’t come until his triumph at Augusta National 11 months ago.
He will be desperate to add to his legacy by winning at least two or three more majors before he retires.
Do you think Rory McIlroy will win a major in 2026?
His game is trending but winning majors is always an incredibly difficult thing to do…
The man from Holywood, Northern Ireland, clearly has all of the tools needed to win many more tournaments before his career is over.
However, whether he has the motivation required to work hard on his game every single day remains to be seen.
McGinley clearly thinks McIlroy is a better golfer now than he was from 2011 to 2014.
Now it’s up to the Northern Irishman to go out and prove that. However, whatever he does between now and the end of his career, he will go down as a true legend of the game.
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