What’s behind Rory McIlroy’s major drought? His former Ryder Cup captain has 2 reasons

Following a T12 finish at this year’s PGA Championship, Rory McIlroy’s major drought lives on, with the 35-year-old pro still searching for that elusive fifth major title after winning his fourth nearly a decade ago.

While McIlroy remains one of the best, most vocal and most polarizing golfers in the world — and is currently No. 3 in the World Ranking — he continues to fall just short in the biggest tournaments each year.

Sure, he’s had some close calls — with four T5 finishes in the past three years — but the bar is so high for McIlroy that those performances somehow feel like failures. Such is the expectation for a player of his caliber.

So what’s the issue? There could be a bevy of factors, but one of McIlroy’s former Ryder Cup captains, Paul McGinley, thinks he’s got a hunch.

Paul McGinley on Rory McIlroy’s major drought

Prior to Sunday’s final round at the PGA Championship from Valhalla — which, ironically, was the last time fans witnessed McIlroy winning a major title — McGinley was on Golf Channel’s Live From. When the topic of McIlroy came up, McGinley offered up two reasons why he can’t quite get over the hump to win his fifth major.

“There are two issues as to why he is not the player he was back then when it comes to major championships,” McGinley said. “The fields are stronger now. Back then he was a young guy forging his way and his elbows were at their pointiest. It was really a case of ‘I am on a march to be the top player in the game, so get out of my way’. He had this clear vision.”

Other than more difficult fields in major tournaments that are loaded with top players, which still includes LIV and PGA Tour players who have multiple major wins themselves, McGinley also said McIlroy needs to overcome a psychological barrier.

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“There’s no doubt a psychological build-up from not getting over the line in major championships since [2014] that he hasn’t circumnavigated yet,” McGinley added. “I say ‘yet’ because, if he gets [the fifth], I feel — maybe not the floodgates will open — but there is certainly another three or four majors in Rory McIlroy. It is all about getting the first one.”

McGinley continued by praising McIlroy’s win-rate in PGA Tour events, which is a whopping 10 percent. For context, that’s higher than anyone else — including World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.

McIlroy’s next chance to win a fifth major comes next month at Pinehurst No. 2 for the 2024 U.S. Open. He finished T23 in 2014, the last time the venue hosted the event.