Rory McIlroy "fired up" for Ryder Cup after Grand Slam achievement

Bob MacIntyre's coach has confidently predicted that winning the career Grand Slam of majors will have Rory McIlroy "fired up" for the Ryder Cup.

McIlroy's epic victory at the Masters in April completed the full set of majors, making him only the sixth player in history to achieve the feat.

The manner of his Augusta triumph did take a toll physically and mentally as his form dipped for a few weeks afterwards, although he roared back into the winner's enclosure in thrilling style at The K Club last week.

McIlroy's second Irish Open win bodes well for a strong performance at Bethpage Black in a couple of weeks, and MacIntyre's coach Simon Shanks has no doubt the world No 2 will lead Europe by example.

"Rory is going to be fired up by the Ryder Cup after he got the Grand Slam out of the way," said Shanks in an exclusive interview with Betway." Not many players have that as a worry!

"The amount that took out of him in April at Augusta was immense really. He won it and lost it three times on the back nine, and that’s going to take it out of you. It was also over 10 years between majors as well.

"So I think you can forgive him for six months off really. Well, not off, just not at his brilliant peak.

"The thing with Rory is everyone notices and says that he’s in a slump if he hasn't won. And to stay at that level where Scottie Scheffler is at the moment, it's an amazing level to be at. And Rory's done that for, you know, 10, 15 years now. He's been right at the top of the game.

"Rory has stayed at such a high level for such a long time, and we judge him by different rules because it's Rory, don't we?

"We say he should be winning a major every year or five tournaments. But when it doesn't quite match that, everyone feels like his game's fallen off. But he's still comfortably one of the best players in the world."

Shanks also feels the European players are more motivated by the Ryder Cup than their American counterparts, and that could be a huge asset for Luke Donald's team at Bethpage Black.

"Team Europe players are desperate to get on the team and I’m not sure if you see that from US players," Shanks added. "Last time it was all the business of not wearing a hat and wanting to be paid and certainly being around Team Europe, there was no talk of that.

"It's just a very different look at the team. Team Europe players are desperate to get on the team, and we saw that with Matt Wallace in Switzerland and how much it would mean to him to have got in the team.

"I'm not sure if you see that from the US players but maybe they show it in a different way; we are all different beasts, motivated by different things."