Rory McIlroy names three youngsters on the PGA Tour who have already really caught his eye

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Rory McIlroy has offered high words of praise for three young PGA Tour stars in particular.

McIlroy is back in action this week at the Canadian Open in Toronto, after a two-week break following his underwhelming PGA Championship.

The Northern Irishman was involved in real controversy at Quail Hollow, all of his own making it must be said.

McIlroy’s driver was deemed to be non-conforming by the PGA of America before the tournament began.

He then failed to speak to the media all week long.

When speaking in Canada on Wednesday, McIlroy said the fact that his name was leaked really annoyed him.

The USGA will be testing drivers ahead of the US Open, and it remains to be seen if any names are leaked this time regarding which players’ drivers are deemed non-conforming.

He will be hoping to forget about all of those driver issues this week in Toronto.

Rory McIlroy names three PGA Tour youngsters who have caught his eye

McIlroy seemed to be in a far happier mood when speaking to the press on Wednesday.

He will tee it up alongside Luke Clanton and Ludvig Aberg.

McIlroy is a big fan of both players, and he named-checked another youngster who has impressed him as well when speaking to the media.

He said, “Yeah, I haven’t really met him, or I certainly haven’t played with him, so I’m looking forward to that over the next two days.

“It seems like a lot of these college kids are coming out just ready. You look over the past few years, Ludvig, for example, Michael Thorbjornsen, obviously Luke. I think this PGA TOUR U program is so good. If it was up to me, I’d give the college kids five or ten spots on TOUR instead of just one.

“I think to bring that new blood through each and every year I think is so important for the TOUR, and to see Luke and some of his other peers take advantage of that opportunity and get their cards and come out here and play well, it’s awesome to see. That’s the future of the TOUR.

“I love that PGA TOUR U program, and it’s great that it’s working in the way it was intended to work.“

Can McIlroy win the US Open next week?

Obviously McIlroy is good enough to win at Oakmont, but he just seems to be a different player right now to the man who won The Masters in April.

His performance at the Canadian Open this week will be a good indication as to where his game is at.

He would do well to avoid needless controversy – something he didn’t do during the PGA Championship.

If McIlroy drives the ball as good as he can, he definitely will be in contention to win the US Open at Oakmont.

Does he still have the hunger and drive needed to win the biggest tournaments though? Only time will tell in that regard.