Rory McIlroy claims Jordan Spieth has a ‘different’ problem to him as he tries to complete the career Grand Slam

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Jordan Spieth will be trying to join Rory McIlroy in the Grand Slam club at The PGA Championship next week.

McIlroy became only the sixth player in history to complete the Grand Slam after his thrilling win at The Masters in April.

It took the Northern Irishman 11 years to finally get over the line and complete the Grand Slam at Augusta National.

And in that sense, Spieth can take great heart from the five-time major champion’s struggles. He completed three legs of the Grand Slam eight years ago at The Open Championship, and has been trying to win The PGA Championship ever since.

McIlroy told Spieth that it will be his turn to win the Grand Slam next on the range ahead of the Truist Championship earlier this week.

And the 31-year-old American will be desperate to join that exclusive club next week at Quail Hollow.

Rory McIlroy claims Jordan Spieth has ‘different’ Grand Slam problem to him

McIlroy knows better than anyone how hard it is to win the missing major to complete the Grand Slam.

It took him 11 long years before he finally cracked the code.

Turning up at Augusta knowing that he had to be on tip-top form for four specific days out of the year must have been incredibly hard for him to process mentally.

However, McIlroy thinks Spieth has it even harder than he did.

The Northern Irishman said, “It’s hard, I think, for Jordan having to do — you have to go back to the same tournament every year for Jordan, but not the same golf course. I think it’s a little bit of a different — it’s a bit of a different proposition for him rather than me having to go back to the same venue every year and trying to, I guess, do that as well.

“As much as you try to get yourself in the right frame of mind to just try to win the golf tournament and then let everything else happen, it’s in there. Consciously or subconsciously, you feel that.

“I said this to people, the worst I felt on Sunday at Augusta was probably when I held the birdie putt on 10 to go 4 ahead because I’m like, oh, I really can’t mess this up now. There’s that pressure.

“You know that you’re not just trying to win another tournament, you’re trying to become part of history, and that has a certain weight to it. I’ve certainly felt that at Augusta over the years. I’m sure Jordan has felt that a bit going into each PGA that he’s had a chance to do the same thing.”

McIlroy actually makes a great point. Spieth hasn’t had the familiarity with the venues at the PGA Championship like the five-time major champion did at Augusta National.

Jordan Spieth’s record at the PGA Championship

Spieth doesn’t have the best record at The PGA Championship, certainly not in recent years.

The closest he has come to winning the Wannamaker Trophy was when he finished three shots adrift of Jason Day at Whistling Straits in 2015.

Here’s how Spieth’s record stacks up.

Could this year be different for Spieth, as he looks to emulate McIlroy’s outstanding achievement?

He is certainly capable of winning at Quail Hollow, but whether his game is in the shape it needs to be in right now is another matter entirely.