Harrington warns McIlroy he won't win Majors with current putting stats

While  Rory McIlroy finished seventh against the field for Strokes Gained Off The Tee and fifth for SG Approach, he was 53rd for SG Putting.

PUTTING GAME: Padraig Harrington believes Rory McIlroy will win another major but needs to bring his 'A' game.  Pic: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

Rory McIlroy will not win another major championship when his putting is as off as it was at Royal Liverpool this week, Padraig Harrington has warned the world number two.

McIlroy’s wait for a fifth major title will stretch into a 10th year in 2024 after the Irishman failed to keep pace with Open Championship front runner Brian Harman over the weekend’s play at Royal Liverpool.

The 34-year-old had hoped a return to the scene of his Claret Jug success in 2014, the year he won his most recent majors back-to-back with the PGA Championship at Valhalla, would return him to the winner’s podium, particularly off the back of his Scottish Open victory the previous weekend. Yet while he got off to fast starts in both his third and fourth rounds with three birdies in his opening five holes on successive days, he could not sustain his charge on either.

Bogeys at the 10th and 16th holes checked his momentum and though he birdied the 14th and par-three 17th, McIlroy’s closed out his final round by watching another birdie putt roll just past the hole at the par-five 18. He signed for a three-under 68, his best round of the week having opened with a level-par 71, but his six-under-par finish was seven shots adrift of new champion Harmon Harrington knows his compatriot is capable of winning another major and though McIlroy brought a huge roar from a Hoylake crowd that had given him as much support as local favourite Tommy Fleetwood with a 48ft putt at the difficult par-four third hole, the Dubliner pointed to disappointing putting stats from his fellow major winner.

While McIlroy finished seventh against the field for Strokes Gained Off The Tee and fifth for SG Approach, he was 53rd for SG Putting.

“He's easily good enough. We all know that,” Harrington said. “He could win at any stage. But it's a little bit more complicated than just being good enough. There's other guys who are good enough. There's plenty of guys out here. The standard is very deep. Plenty of guys who are competing and playing.

“Rory has to bring his "A" game. That's just it. I see he's pretty much down where I am putting this week, and I can tell you that's pretty miserable. He's not going to win tournaments putting like that this week.

“Not saying he's putting badly, but the fact is he's probably given up 13 shots to Brian Harman, 12 in putts. I only had given up 14. But that's what I'm saying. You just can't, there's too many good players for you to go out there and not have all of your game at a decent level and some of your game at a really good level. That's just the way it is.

“It all has to fire. That's the reality of it, and you only get four of those a year. But he's got four goals a year for another 20 years.” Strained ankle tendons and a “melted head” made for an uncomfortable conclusion to 51-year-old Harrington’s own Open Championship but the two-time winner will head to South Wales this week in search of a second senior major title.

He won the US Senior Open in his debut season on the Champions Tour last year and he will arrive at Royal Porthcawl for this Thursday’s Senior Open targeting victory, despite the discomfort he experienced in the rain at Hoylake during a final-round, three-over-par 74 to finish at eight over.

“That really sounds miserable,” he said when his efforts were summarised.

“Look, today was two hours of abuse of myself on the range. My head was well and truly melted today after that.

“I wanted to do a little bit of stuff yesterday, and I think now the next three days, get myself ready, get myself back into the form I was at the start of the week. Certainly I was a bit scrambled out there today, so it wasn't a great day in that sense. Yeah, looking forward to getting my head in the game next week.

“I'd love to go down there and win it. I'll wait and see what the golf course is like and the conditions for the week. It's a long time since I've played it, so we'll see.

But the main thing is getting my head in the game. I really, really messed up my ankle badly hitting shots and I kind of overdid it. Next couple of days I've got to get my body and mind ready for the tournament.”