It might be easy for Rory McIlroy to dismiss Colin Montgomery's critique, unless he believes in the adage, "takes one to know one."
The Mirror reported Monday that Hall of Famer Montgomery has told McIlroy that there's no way he can win the Masters until he learns to putt.
"You would think it was a course that would suit him," Monty told the Mirror. "He hits it high and he can draw the ball, but he's not putting. Most of his putts are missing to the right and Butch Harmon told me he needs to release the putter more.
"The confidence on the greens is not as it is in other tournaments and if you don't putt well at Augusta you don't score and that's what happened.
"Since that slip on the final day (in 2011) he hasn't performed and he hasn't holed the putts that the other competitors have."
McIlroy famously had a four-stroke lead at the 2011 Masters going into the final round but shot an 80 and finished tied for 15th while Charl Schwartzel won the event by shooting a final-round 66 for a 14-under score.
According to the Mirror, McIlroy's 2014 Masters performance was dismal for the first 36 holes, which included a second-round 79 that all but ended the Irishman's chances of taking home the green jacket.
"McIlroy was tied 84th of the 97 starters at the Masters for putting after the first 36 holes - needing 65 shots on the green at an average of 1.81 per hole," the Mirror reported. "Only 10 players in the whole field were worse. But he was seventh for driving distance."
Montgomery is famous in part for never having won a major, while McIlroy already has two, Golf.com reported. Montgomery's best finish at the Masters was a tie for eighth place in 1998, and he missed six cuts in 15 appearances. The 24-year-old McIlroy tied for eighth on Sunday.
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