Cromwell, Connecticut … 

It has been nearly two years since Rory McIlroy captured his fourth Major Championship in near darkness at Valhalla in Kentucky.

That was nine Majors ago for the now World No. 3 ranked Northern Irishman.

And while McIlroy looks to win the Masters to become a Grand Slam champion he was asked on the eve of his maiden appearance in this weeks Travelers Championship whether he felt it is becoming harder to not only win a first Majors but either of the other three Majors in golf.

“I think so. I think guys have started to play this modern game of golf that we know,” he said.

“Obviously last week where you hit a lot of drivers and you could over-par a golf course.

“But I mean you look at the last few major winners, DJ, Henrik, I mean, Jimmy Walker gets it out there. Sergio and Justin going down the stretch, they don’t hit it short, Brooks. It’s getting to the point where guys are going to hit driver more often. I felt like when you watched Tiger dominate, it was a little more of a conservative game and the strategy was a little more where guys say, OK, I’m going to hit driver, and I’m going to get it down there, and I’m going to be aggressive. And if you’re on that week with driver, and you can get it down there and you’re hitting it in the fairway, the course becomes so much easier. I think that’s part of the reason”.

McIlroy goes onto to say that aggression is now the key work and it has been handed down from Woods to a newer generation who have taken to the game in this post Woods era.

“Guys aren’t afraid to be aggressive and to score. I don’t necessarily think it’s gotten harder. It’s always been hard to win a major championship. I just think as you said, the depth of talent out there is as deep as it’s ever been. There are a number of factors. The teaching is better, the knowledge is better. Yeah, there are just more players.

“I think as well if you were to say what was Tiger’s biggest impact on the game, it’s the fact that there are so many kids now that are trying to — it used to be kids used to play golf as a hobby and something to do in the summertime. Now it’s kids want to play golf to win tournaments and to be a professional golfer. So that’s been a huge impact as well. That’s why you see — I mean, you look at this class of 11, I guess, you’ve got Justin Thomas, and Jordan, and Daniel Berger, and all these guys are coming through. So it is, it’s deep out here. It’s great for the game. You might not see a dominant player in the game like we’ve seen in the past, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing.

“Obviously, I’d love to try to emulate some of that dominance, but I think in this day and age, it’s a little more difficult.”