Rory McIlroy thinks Jordan Spieth will have a tough time duplicating in 2016 anything resembling the season he enjoyed in 2015.
The Ulsterman is speaking from experience.
McIlroy closed 2014 with a stunning major double, winning his first British Open at Royal Liverpool, then taking his second PGA Championship in a squeaker over Phil Mickelson at Valhalla. This year, McIlroy notched four worldwide wins, including the WGC-Cadillac Match Play and the European Tour’s DP World Tour Championship, but the four-time winner struck out in majors, influenced significantly by a July soccer injury that forced him to miss his Open title defense and come back rusty at the PGA Championship.
Even if the 22-year-old Spieth is fully healthy throughout next year, McIlroy suggests history has not been kind to players who win multiple majors in a year.
“It will feel completely different for Jordan,” McIlroy said in an interview with The Telegraph in the U.K. “If you look at the stats at how those who have had a double-major season have performed the next year — well, it’s hard to back up. It just is. There’s so much expectation, so much attention and focus. And I think it is more self-inflicted pressure really as your expectations are so high.
“This time last year mine were through the roof coming off a great season, winning those back-to-back majors and although I started well I never felt I really got into my stride with the injuries and stuff.”
Spieth’s 2015 is the 32nd time a player has won at least two majors in a season. Of the prior 31 times that’s happened, only one player has gone on to win multiple majors the next season: Tiger Woods won the 2005 Masters and British Open, then, after his father’s death in 2006, defending the Claret Jug at Royal Liverpool and won the PGA Championship.
That may sound daunting for Spieth, but there is some solace. Another 11 times a player has won multiple majors in a year, they’ve gone on to win another major the next year.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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