Give Rory time - Pádraig

Rory McIlroy

Padraig Harrington knows that winning multiple majors in a short period of time can send expectation levels through the roof.

But he also knows that when it comes to Rory McIlroy, the high expectations aren’t just from the media or the public. They also come from within and that’s a burden.

"Rory's obviously played well this year and yet seems to be getting a lot of press saying he's not playing so well," Harrington said yesterday

"Clearly, his career is now solely based on how he does in the majors. There seems to be no other yardstick for Rory, and that's probably the yardstick he uses himself."

Harrington understands that the most successful major winners of all time took 15 to 20 years to build up their impressive resumes.

"It took 20 years for Jack to get 18 majors," he said. “And for the eights and the nines there with Watson and Player, you'll find it took 20 years too, certainly 15 years, and you're judging Rory over seven years. 

"Give him another seven years and see if he's got eight in the bag. Are we disappointed with that then?

"Rory is well on pace to get into double digits with majors, but it has got harder. There's no doubt there's more players out there who are capable of having a big week and a big game for a major. It makes it tough."

The difference between 2011 and 2018 is the number of players who now drive the ball almost as well as McIlroy.

"In 2011 he was competing against himself, similar to how Tiger would have been for most of his career," Harrington said. "I think there are many guys he's competing against now, and it's just a tougher ask. 

"The beauty for Rory is he's still very young, he's still very capable, and with patience, those majors will come."