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Harrington tips McIlroy for major titles

Padraig Harrington believes the sight of Rory McIlroy with the trophy could become a common one © Getty Images

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Padraig Harrington has backed Rory McIlroy to win a Major this year, and believes the youngster is capable of becoming one of the greatest names in golf.

McIlroy, who recently turned 21, won his first PGA Tournament last month, and Harrington believes it could be the start of great things, even backing the Northern Irishman to win next month's US Open.

Only Walter Hagen, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have won more than ten Majors each, but Harrington, who has three to his name, believes McIlroy has the potential to match the great names in golf.

"Rory could very well win the next Major he's that good," said Harrington in the Evening Standard. "He strikes me as a 10 Majors-plus winner but that's obviously not easy to do as not a lot of people have done it. But Rory's a unique talent and he has the potential to do just that."

Ever since he turned professional in 2007, McIlroy has been tipped as the next big thing, and he finally got his maiden PGA Tour title at Quail Hollow. After missing the cut in his previous two tournaments, McIlroy narrowly made the cut before storming up the leaderboard over the weekend to claim a memorable victory. And Harrington believes the victory could be the turning point for the man who was considering taking a break from the sport.

"I think the win was big for him -- it relieved the pressure," Harrington said. "The only thing that was going to damage his immense natural ability was falling out of love with the game. That doesn't seem a problem now and he can just let himself grow into the immense talent that he is.

"But the Tour is a tough place for anyone. Rory is still a young lad however good he is and it's not a very caring place. When teeing off no one will care that Rory's just 21 - to them, he's just another competitor that they have to beat."

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