Rory McIlroy British Open: Why McIlroy Won't Bounce Back at Open Championship

Rory McIlroy may be one of golf's brightest young players, but he's been disappointing since his historic victory at last year's U.S. Open and his game doesn't fit the British Open.

McIlroy, who once held the No. 1 world ranking, has seen Luke Donald overtake him in what has been an up-and-down 2012 for the 23-year-old. He has five Top 10 finishes this year, including a victory at the Honda Classic, but he's also missed three cuts in his last four PGA Tour events.

McIlroy most recently shot a 77 and a 73 in the first two rounds of the U.S. Open, further evidence that he is not the same golfer who dominated at Congressional last year. Now he's heading into the 2012 British Open, and there's little reason to believe he'll capture the Claret Jug.

In the unpredictable weather at Royal Lytham & St Annes, it's incredibly important to be accurate with the driver. Unfortunately for McIlroy, he ranks 147th in driving accuracy (56.32 percent) this season, according to PGATour.com.

He's never been particularly accurate on the fairways—even last year when he was ranked 116th in the category. Unless it all of a sudden starts looking more like Los Angeles than England come Thursday, McIlroy will have a hard time staying within range of the leaders.

Remember, in last year's British Open, McIlroy was four shots off the lead before the weather acted up in the third round, blowing his chances out of the water. He shot a 71 and 69 before shooting a 74 and 73 in the final two rounds. He ended up finishing in 25th place.

Even if McIlroy was playing spectacular, consistent golf this year, I still wouldn't peg him as the favorite heading into the British Open. Until he improves his driving accuracy, he will always be at a disadvantage at the major.

McIlroy may be feeling at ease with less media surrounding him these days, but a combination of his play this year and his brand of golf forecasts this to simply be the calm before the storm.

Follow me on Twitter. We can talk about golf together.