Rory McIlroy told by Tour pro: "One wonders if you don't have a huge killer instinct"
English DP World Tour professional Eddie Pepperell has offered his thoughts on Rory McIlroy's latest near-miss at the Irish Open.
English tour pro Eddie Pepperell has questioned whether Rory McIlroy truly has a killer instinct.
McIlroy, 35, missed a glorious opportunity to claim a fairytale home victory at last week's Irish Open.
Putting jitters haunted McIlroy again, with the four-time major champion dropping shots at Royal County Down's 15th and 17th to fall two behind Rasmus Hojgaard with one hole left.
McIlroy was a matter of centimetres away from forcing a playoff with the young Dane, but his eagle putt at the 72nd hole slid by the right edge of the cup to prompt unanimous groans from the crowd.
It marked the latest disappointment for McIlroy who later told reporters he was 'getting used to' near-misses in 2024.
He was referring to his dramatic collapse at the U.S. Open in July where he spurned another gilt-edged chance to end his 10-year wait for a major championship.
Now Pepperell put forward his theory as to why McIlroy doesn't get over the line as much as he would like, despite his obvious talent.
Pepperell told the Chipping Forecast: "Winning is obviously very hard and he's won far more than most.
"I hesitate to say this but, you know, one wonders if he doesn't have a huge killer instinct in strokeplay events even in spite of [the] many victories he's had.
"And it makes you wonder how many wins he would have if he had the killer instinct that Tiger had or you could argue someone like a Brooks Koepka or Jon Rahm has.
"I think that goes to show the level of talent that Rory has. I think it is unparalleled since Tiger and I still maintain that.
"His ability to play and hit shots... his two shots into 18 [in the final round of the Irish Open] were just unbelievable and he'll be kicking himself."
Pepperell said McIlroy has now got to try and find a way, as he moves into his late 30s and early 40s, to engender a mindset that is going to help him cross the line more frequently.
He reckons McIlroy will keep himself in good physical shape to enable him to compete and win at least six tournaments per year.
"And a few of them are going to be majors," Pepperell said.
"He just needs to find a way of crossing that line."
McIlroy is back in action this week at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
McIlroy has won the flagship event on the DP World Tour once in 2014.
GolfMagic will be providing live text updates.
Play gets underway on Thursday morning.
Barring a late surge from the aforementioned Hojgaard, the Ulsterman looks set to be crowned the Race to Dubai champion for the sixth time in his career later this year.
