John Huggan: Rory McIlroy so close to deposing Luke Donald but many think he’s already the tops

HE’S already the most fun to watch, of course. And, at the age of only 22, he remains, despite the fame, riches and major championship that have already come his way, the personable and polite young man his admirable parents brought him up to be.

But is Rory McIlroy, no matter what the world rankings may argue, the best golfer on the planet right this minute?

As you’d expect, there’s a fairly substantial range of opinion out there. Some pundits are prepared to anoint the precocious Ulsterman – currently ranked No.2 – on the basis of an already formidable body of work. Others simply can’t comprehend how someone whose swing is so rhythmic and balanced cannot be No.1, even if he did come up short against Hunter Mahan in the final of last week’s Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona. The other camp is not yet willing to see past the marginal statistical supremacy of No.1 Luke Donald.

“Rory is easily the player with the most potential,” points out CBS commentator and renowned coach, Peter Kostis, who works with Englishman Paul Casey. “That is what people are alluding to when they say that he should be number one now. But it depends on how you define number one. Is it for this week? Or this month? Or this year? The next ten years? That’s a lot of questions and just part of why the world seems to have been all lathered up since Tiger Woods lost the position. For 12 years nobody gave a damn about world number one. We knew it was Tiger.”

One who is more pragmatic, albeit just as enthusiastic regarding McIlroy’s surely glittering future, is another swing guru, Denis Pugh, whose clients include three Ryder Cup players in the Molinari brothers, Edoardo and Francesco, and Ross Fisher.

“Rory isn’t number one,” he says simply. “Luke is. He’s number one because he is number one. Everything else is just debate. Rory will be number one soon enough though. I don’t expect Luke to be up there forever and the next guy in line is Rory. Which is hardly sticking my neck out.

“Rory is well short of where he is going to be at his best. There is a lot more to come. He is so gifted and talented and he seems to have the right mindset. He will take being number one in his stride. To come back from what happened at the Masters last year then win the US Open, was remarkable. If he does nothing else in his career, that is proof enough of his mental strength.”

Another McIlroy fan is Hank Haney, erstwhile coach of Woods and the author of what will surely be golf’s most controversial book of 2012: The Big Miss.

“Based on how he has played this year, Rory is number one right now,” claims Haney. “Look at his record since he won the US Open. Luke is the only player who is even close. And you can make an argument for him too. That he hasn’t done much this year has more to do with him taking a break, having a child and losing his father. So I’d cut him some slack right now.

“The thing about Rory is that he has made himself the man to beat every time he tees up. No one else can say that right now, not even Luke. I’m so impressed with him, both as a golfer and as a person. I like the way he handles himself. He looks like he has fun playing golf. He makes the game look easy. And it’s good to see a genuinely nice person at the top of the game.

“Rory has it all. He hits the ball a long way and his swing is technically sound. He’s not going to vary too much in his shot pattern. That’s the combination you need to be successful on tour today – power and putting. As ever, it all comes down to making putts. He did that when he won the US Open. And, so far this year, he has putted pretty well. But that is something he has done only sparingly in the past. He needs to keep that consistency going with the putter in his hand.”

Indeed, only two real criticisms have been aimed at McIlroy over the course of his still brief professional career. His putting has, at times, let him down and he hasn’t won as often as his talent level would suggest he should. Certainly, no one is questioning the quality of his full swing.

“Rory is headed wherever his ambition and dedication and discipline want to take him,” continues Kostis. “I see no limits in that regard. I am a huge fan of his swing. He has in his motion what Tiger is lacking. When you watch Rory you get the feeling that everything about him is reacting to the clubhead. He’s cocking and swinging the club to the top. Then he’s releasing the clubhead through impact. His body, while propelling the club, is subservient to his feel for the clubhead.

“Tiger, on the other hand, is making his body move the clubhead. Not even that, the shaft. So he has lost the correct sequencing in his swing. The positions are wonderful, but I don’t think he has as much feel for the clubhead as Rory has. And that is what is most elegant about Rory’s swing.”

Still, as has long been recognised, golf is a game played largely between the ears – especially at the top level.

“It would be foolish to give a young man stick for being a young man,” says Pugh. “Rory has made some mistakes – that’s natural at his age – but through it all his phenomenal talent shines through.

“There was always going to be more passion in a semi-final against Lee Westwood than with a final against Mahan. There was a lot both wanted to prove to each other.

“The great thing is that Rory doesn’t make the same mistake twice. He gets something wrong, recognises that fact, then moves on. And he will learn from last week’s match play defeat, to better control emotional energy after his win over Lee. He coped admirably with the disappointment of Augusta last year, so I don’t think he’ll be that upset at losing the final.”

The biggest endorsement, however, comes from Haney, who spent six years overseeing the most over-analysed move in sports, the Woods golf swing.

“Another great advantage Rory has is that he doesn’t have to be the best putter to win,” says Haney. “But nobody can win without putting at least reasonably well. He has to keep improving in that area, even if the level he is at right now is adequate. If he does, he will soon be number one. And he will be there for a while.”