Lee Westwood believes Rory McIlroy has not yet reached his peak and will "walk away" with a fifth Major in a similar style to Brian Harman's Open victory - but has a feeling it could come at Augusta.
Next year it will be a decade since McIlroy won the last of his four Majors at the 2014 PGA Championship - despite remarkable consistency that has seen him register 20 top 10 finishes in 34 Majors.
McIlroy has been knocking on the door recently, finishing in the top eight in seven of the last eight Majors with three top-threes, but he's still managing to come up just short.
The Northern Irishman is remaining positive and many believe it's just a case of if not when he wins another big one - including Westwood who feels McIlroy still hasn't reached his peak.
"Rory will now go into a 10th season without having won a Major, but to my mind he has not peaked yet and fared ridiculously well to win four Majors before he was 25," Westwood wrote in The Telegraph.
"I did not play my best golf until I was in my late 30s – I got to world No. 1 and yes, I was given pelters from the US for somehow not being worthy of the moniker – and I believe Rory will be the same."
McIlroy won his first Major at the US Open by a country mile, and Westwood feels that when a fifth does come it will be a similar style - and similar to Harman's super runaway success at Royal Liverpool.
Famously needing to win the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam, McIlroy has often put too much pressure on himself to win the Green Jacket - but Westwood has a suspicion that his next Major could well come at Augusta.
"He is so consistent and should carry on what he is doing," Westwood added.
"I honestly have a feeling that he will win the Masters in April and I’m not sure I’ve felt that way before.
"Rory just seems on that path and one day, it will all click and he will walk away with another Major – Harman style."
Westwood also feels that any frustration McIlroy has about not winning a Major could help Europe in the Ryder Cup - if he takes it out on the Americans in Rome.
"Luke Donald, my old partner, will still fancy Europe’s chances and in McIlroy the Europe captain will have a world No. 2 so fired up," he added.
The Americans do look to have greater strength in depth though after surprise Major winners Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman played their way almost certainly onto the team.
And Westwood says that not having a DP World Tour event for three weeks now is a blow for European hopefuls wanting to sharpen their games and push for places on Donald's team.
"The strength of depth at the US captain’s disposal is as incredible as it is ominous as the Americans plot to win on European soil for the first time in 30 years," he continued.
"Wyndham Clark won last month’s US Open and he was another who was not one of the top picks. Their confidence will be overflowing after this."
