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McIlroy has earned the right to prepare as he pleases

Rory McIlroy cannot be the subject of debate so soon after his biggest triumph © Getty Images

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Trust Colin Montgomerie to wade in where perhaps his opinions are not wanted, if not downright uneducated.

This week the Scot suggested that new major champion Rory McIlroy has been wrong to sit out the entire three weeks between the US Open and Open Championship, believing the lack of competitive practice will adversely affect his chances of dominating the latter event as he did to the former.

As a man who infamously never claimed a major title - despite being among the best players in the world for a decade - Montgomerie at least had the humility to recognise he is not in the best position to judge.

"I can understand two out of three, but I would like to have seen him play a competitive tournament between the two majors," said Montgomerie of McIlroy. "He's so natural I don't think there are any fears about his game, but it's the locker room - there are going to be so many people wanting to congratulate him.

"He could have got that out of his system and out of the way so he can start the Open afresh. Now he's got that ahead of him and on the first tee I think he will be mentally tired - but who am I to say?"

Montgomerie may believe from his own experience that it is best to get such locker room niceties out of the way before the next battle (and, in fairness, three-time major winner Padraig Harrington did offer some support for his viewpoint) but the reality is McIlroy has earned the right to chose how, when, where and with whom he prepares for future major championships.

The way he plotted his way around Congressional's Blue Course and left everyone else in the field trailing in his wake was evidence enough that he knows what he is doing on the biggest stage. After being crowned champion he immediately made it clear that he intends to win many more such titles - so he is not subconsciously sabotaging his chances at Royal St George's due to some notion that he has already reached the pinnacle of the game.

The 22-year-old believes that taking time off, to deal with all the external media attention and enjoy a career-defining success with his family and friends, will allow him to be better prepared both mentally and physically for a run at a second successive major.

Only the Northern Irishman's finish come Sunday will decide whether that move is right or wrong. But we can be sure his decision has been made with the right intentions.

Not all players play the weeks around a major, anyway. McIlroy grew up playing the sort of golf (factoring in the wind conditions, playing creative bump-and-run shots around the greens) that will be required in Sandwich. He doesn't need to prepare extensively for what has come naturally to him almost his entire walking life.

Others in a less fortunate position will tee up at the Scottish Open this week, which sees a change of venue from the scenic and popular Loch Lomond to give players a links-style preparation ahead of the calendar's only true links-style major.

Castle Stuart is a new layout that has been bedded in so successfully that a number of players have already claimed it 'feels like it has been around 100 years', and offers a seaside test that gives the field - including an increased number of Americans - a chance to work on some different types of shots ahead of their assault on the third major of the year.

That's their prerogative. Just as McIlroy feels he will benefit from relaxing for a few weeks, so a number of players believe they will be better served by pushing through any fatigue they may be feeling to sharpen up the various facets of the game by the few percentage points that could decide whether they claim the famed Claret Jug.

"It's way above expectations - and a great set-up for next week," Harrington said of the course near Inverness. "It's fantastic that we get that opportunity to enjoy this style of golf because it's really different to what we are used to and takes a lot of getting used to.

"I cannot emphasise how different it is hitting an iron shot off the turf on a links course rather than on a standard parkland course. Some go further and some go shorter because of the turf."

That's why so many players are in action this week. Whether they would still be teeing it up had they just decimated a major championship field by one of the largest margins in living memory, however, is harder to know.

But that's what McIlroy has just done. And that's why he is free to prepare for the next major as he pleases.

No-one, not even Colin Montgomerie, can really argue with that.

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