Rory McIlroy Won't Impress at 2013 US Open

Rory McIlroy has had four top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this year, but he won't finish in the top 10 at the 2013 U.S. Open.

The biggest challenge for McIlroy at Merion Golf Club will be his accuracy off the tee and his putting game. He ranks 106th on tour in driving accuracy this season and 123rd in putting (strokes gained), per PGATour.com. Considering you have to drive accurately and putt well at Merion to win, that's certainly a problem.

Frustration can quickly set in for a golfer at Merion. The greens are lightning-fast, meaning chipping out of the rough and putting are extremely difficult tasks. There's a reason why 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus once said, "Acre for acre, (Merion) may be the best test of golf in the world," per MerionGolfClub.com.

Kelly Tilghman of Golf Channel noted last week:

On top of that, it's a par-70 course, meaning only two of 18 holes are par-fives. That means it's much more difficult to make up ground at Merion.

The weather also figures to be a concern. The forecast for Thursday from Weather.com read as so (as of 8:07 p.m. ET):

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Showers and thunderstorms - possibly severe in the afternoon. Storms may produce large hail and strong winds.

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Graeme McDowell said, via the Washington Post:

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Literally, I played this golf course 12 months ago; it was phenomenal, ready to go,” McDowell said. “I played it last Wednesday; it’s phenomenal and ready to go. And then we get here, and it’s disappointing.

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Proponents for McIlroy will say that his driving accuracy has improved lately. Then again, that's not seeing the complete picture.

Yes, McIlroy has registered a driving accuracy of over 60 percent in his last four tournaments dating back to the Masters (his average for the year is 58.87 percent), so you could say he's improved in that regard.

On the other hand, his driving accuracy didn't stack up to the competition that well at the Players Championship or the Memorial Tournament, meaning the fairways were easier to hit in general. At the Players Championship, he ranked 39th in the field in driving accuracy, per CBSSports.com. At the Memorial, he ranked 67th in the field in driving accuracy, despite hitting over 60 percent of fairways.

So, you see, his improvement isn't as grand as it may seem on the surface.

This isn't just a blip, either. McIlroy has never been an accurate driver in his career. McIlroy may say Merion fits his game (via Farrell Evans of ESPN.com), but it's actually quite the opposite. It could turn into a nightmare for the 24-year-old.