Rory McIlroy: 9 Reasons U.S. Open Champ Will Win at Highlands Course

What's life without a bold prediction or two? Sure, you're going to be wrong on quite a few of those predictions, but when you are right, all of the misses are forgotten.

Make no mistake: This isn't saying that Rory McIlroy can win this week's PGA Championship. We all know that. I might as well say that the PGA Championship will be played in Georgia.

No, what I am saying here is that McIlroy will win the PGA Championship and complete one of the most remarkable major seasons in the history of the game.

Here are a few reasons why I have this expectation.

He's from Nothern Ireland

Okay, this is just a coincidence, but players from Northern Ireland are absolutely dominating major championships.

Phil Mickelson's 2010 win at the Masters was the last time an American won a major. Since then, six majors have been played and three have been won by Northern Irishmen.

This hasn't been a matter of one player dominating. Actually, three different golfers from Northern Ireland—Graeme McDowell, McIlroy and Darren Clarke—have claimed one.

It's amazing to think that a country as small as Northern Ireland could completely dominate a game as global as golf is; but it's happening.

He Likes the US Better

Rory McIlroy is not an American. We know that. Actually, he has come from a place that has dramatically different golf courses and climate than the US.

Still, McIlroy has himself said that he plays better here. He's looking for homes in the US and is almost certainly going to be a full time PGA Tour player in 2012.

It's true that McIlroy had a pretty decent showing at the 2010 British Open at St. Andrew's, but other than that, his best majors have been in the US.

Now McIlroy is back in a climate that seems to better suit his game. Look for that to show on the scoreboard.

His Post-U.S. Open Success

McIlroy hasn't won since the U.S. Open. As a matter of fact, his game has been fairly unimpressive since the U.S. Open.

So what's happened in those tournaments? Missed cuts? Dismal results?

Actually, no, not at all. He hasn't been a deep contender but he's put up decent performances when you consider how much he's struggled.

A sign of a great golfer is not always how they do when they have their best game, but how they do when they are off.

McIlroy has passed that test in the two months since the U.S. Open. He hasn't won, but that's not always the most important thing.

Putting

Rory McIlroy won the U.S. Open due to his putting. The rest of his game was sharp, but he put that tournament away with his putter.

Who won the last time the PGA Championship was played at the Atlanta Athletic Club? David Toms. Toms is not exactly known for his long drives.

McIlroy has that advantage (which we'll get to shortly), but he also has a beautiful putting stroke.

As great of a shot maker as Tiger Woods was in his prime, his putting is what made him who he was. The same could be said about Mickelson when he was as his best.

At major championships, you need to putt. McIlroy can do that.

Driving

Generally speaking, American majors are played at long venues. It becomes exceptionally hard for players who have to hit long irons into the same greens when other hitters are hitting with low-mid irons.

McIlroy has the advantage that will allow him to attack more flags than others. That goes directly in line with his strong putting.

McIlroy's putting stats aren't great because he misses a lot of greens and close chips. McIlroy's putting stats are great because he's a great putter who's able to attack flags. That comes from driving the ball well, especially at long venues.

He Has a Game for the Course

This kind of goes hand in hand with the last two slides, as well as the one about playing well in the US.

Although he's from Northern Ireland, McIlroy's enjoyed a lot of success in some climates that are much different than anything he grew up in.

His two American wins came in Washington, DC (technically Maryland if you want to nitpick) and North Carolina. His one win abroad came in Dubai.

Do you remember how dominant McIlroy was for the first 54 holes of the Masters? That's in Georgia, which is the same state they're in this week—though in a different time of the year.

The long ball and putter will help McIlroy this week. The fondness of the venue and the surroundings goes a long way in making him the favorite.

He's Under the Radar

Thanks to Tiger Woods and Steve Williams, the golf world's attention is almost squarely on those two men. By extension, it's also on Adam Scott.

McIlroy seems to fly better under the radar. At the Masters on Sunday, all the focus was on him and he didn't perform.

When the U.S. Open came around, he was a story, but he wasn't the focal point until the tournament began and that tournament worked out well for him.

Because he didn't have a great British Open, the attention on McIlroy this week is similar to what it was at the U.S. Open.

That bodes well for McIlroy, who is still a bit young an unpolished for all the media attention. It's a good thing that the focus is elsewhere.

Nobody Else Is Rising Above the Rest

Rory McIlroy has won once this year. It was an impressive win at a big tournament, but he's only experienced one win.

Still, when it relates to the majors, what have the other big names done over the last year? Martin Kaymer is the only player ranked ahead of McIlroy who's ever won a major.

In the world top 10, only McIlroy, Kaymer and Phil Mickelson have ever won one.

In the time since Tiger Woods has faded from the top, McIlroy is the only player who's really come close to taking the reigns.

Honestly, nobody in golf history has ever been good enough to guarantee a win. Even Tiger only won about 30 percent of the time—which means he failed to win 70 percent of the time.

But if we're looking for one guy to single out, nobody deserves that honor more than Rory McIlroy.

He's the Best in the World

According to the world rankings, McIlroy's the No. 4 player in the world. But no player has been a consistent factor at recent majors more than McIlroy has.

Look at the British Open, where No. 1 Luke Donald and No. 2 Lee Westwood both missed the cut. Maybe McIlroy will win, maybe he won't, but does anyone want to say that he won't be around for the weekend?

Now, do any of those people want to make a guarantee that Donald and Westwood will play the weekend? I would say that they probably will, but I wouldn't bet more than a couple of cents on it.

McIlroy is the most talented golfer going. When he overcame the major hurdle and won the U.S. Open, he became the best golfer in the world; nobody has challenged him since.

As a matter of fact, others have regressed. McIlroy hasn’t improved since then in terms of wins and losses, but he also hasn’t backtracked.