• WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship

McIlroy the most talented ever - Gary Player

Gary Player feels Rory McIlroy can dominate the game if he finds his touch on the greens © Getty Images

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Gary Player feels the rest of the world will be playing catch up if Rory McIlroy hits top form on the greens, as the nine-time major winner believes the Ulsterman is the most naturally gifted player he has ever seen.

With Player having featured in an era when Jack Nicklaus was at his best and witnessed the emergence and dominance of Tiger Woods, it is a bold statement.

McIlroy has one major to his name, the US Open in 2011, and Player is convinced the youngster will be rewarded for both his talent and the way he approaches the game with many more.

"He is so good for golf," Player told the Daily Mirror ahead of McIlroy's assault on the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. "He has so much talent - I have never seen anybody with more talent - and I have played with some great players. It is remarkable.

"If he can get his putting to match the rest of his game, they will all be playing for second. I would not be surprised if he is world No. 1 by the end of the year."

McIlroy's attitude both on and off the course has impressed Player, who said: "A lot of young players don't want to speak to the media but I never, ever turned down an interview, whether it was good or bad, and athletes have to realise the importance of the media.

"You are representing a lot of companies who are signing you up because they want to get coverage. There is such an abundance of money in sports and in the western world there is a sense of entitlement which is coming to an end with the world's economy like this. Everyone is in for a rude awakening.

"But Rory is a role model for these times - he is modest and polite. Modern players have to have a sense of responsibility to the game and to the public. And that is what Rory has got. It is going to be so interesting watching him. He is going to be one of those people who stick out."

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