Tiger Woods is often considered the greatest golfer of all time, but one respected figure in the sport has placed Rory McIlroy above the American in terms of pure talent
Tom Sunderland Sports Writer
07:00, 09 Nov 2025Updated 08:30, 09 Nov 2025
Rory McIlroy has been hailed as a superior natural talent over Tiger Woods(Image: AP)
British golf icon Luke Donald has touted Rory McIlroy as the most talented golfer he’s played with on the PGA Tour, and that includes Tiger Woods. It’s often Woods who tops most lists when it comes to discussions regarding golf’s G.O.A.T., but the debate is far from closed in Donald’s view.
Donald, 47, joined the PGA Tour in 2002 and became quite accustomed to battling Tiger on a pretty regular basis. As a result, the Englishman had an intimate view of Woods in his pomp, with the 15-time major champion hoovering up most of those gongs in the early 2000s.
McIlroy, 36, didn’t arrive on the scene until a little later having turned professional in 2007. But the former child prodigy, who is in business with Woods after co-founding Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL), didn’t take long to make a lasting impression on his future Ryder Cup colleague.
“I’ve always said that of the guys I’ve played with out here on Tour, Rory has the most talent,” he told reporters back in 2011 ahead of that year’s DP World Tour Championship (then the Dubai World Championship). “The sky’s the limit.
“He’s young, he’s got a great future ahead of him, and I see him winning lots of tournaments and lots of majors. I’m not surprised the year that he’s had, he probably hasn’t won as much as he thought, but he’s got time for that, and I’m sure he’ll put up a good challenge this week.”
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Those comments are arguably even more meaningful given they came before McIlroy’s status as a superstar of golf had fully materialised. In fact, at the time Donald gave that tribute, McIlroy had only won twice on the PGA Tour, albeit one of those was the 2011 US Open.
The Northern Irishman has since added 27 more PGA Tour titles to his collection, not to mention becoming just the sixth person to complete the career Grand Slam. He has also played in eight Ryder Cups and won six of those, the last two of which Donald served as his captain.
That’s one of the few metrics in which McIlroy is statistically superior to Woods. Despite being 13 years McIlroy’s elder and competing in the competition just as many times, Woods has appeared on the winning side of the Ryder Cup just once.
Luke Donald has skippered McIlroy to Ryder Cup success in 2023 and 2025(Image: Getty)
However, when it comes to individual statistics, it’s difficult to argue against Woods’ credentials overall. The 49-year-old holds the joint-record for the most PGA Tour victories (82 alongside Sam Snead), boasts the lowest career scoring average on the Tour and has earned more than any other golfer in the competition’s history.
Only Jack Nicklaus (18) has more major titles than Woods, who is the youngest athlete to complete the career Grand Slam. The Californian has also won 14 of the 15 majors in which he entered the final round with at least a share of the lead, whereas McIlroy has endured a number of late collapses on golf’s grandest stages.
Woods and McIlroy are business partners as co-founders of Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL)(Image: Getty Images)
Since Donald made those comments almost 14 years ago, McIlroy’s star has grown tremendously. That’s despite the fact he endured a wait of more than a decade between his two most recent major wins.
In any case, the competition between McIlroy and Woods is purely friendly, and the pair have struck up a very close bond over the years. Woods no longer poses the same threat to his pal in light of incessant injury issues in recent years, but he was still relatively close to his peak when Donald picked out a certain lad from Holywood as the superior talent.
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