Legendary coach Butch Harmon gives his verdict on Rory McIlroy's latest Masters bid

McIlroy has not won a major title for eight years and he will be aiming to end his long wait to add the The Masters to his collection after some near messes at Augusta over the last decade.

Now respected Sky Sports golf expert Harmon, who has coached some of the biggest names in the game from Tiger Woods to Phil Mickelson, is backing McIlroy to rise to the challenge in the first major of 2022.

"It's a long time since Rory won his last major and that is a factor for him now," believes Harmon.

"Winning breeds confidence and when he won his four majors, he did it in quick succession, so the belief was there.

"I feel like he's getting back to where he wants to me now. He's swinging better and he's starting to putt better.

"We'd all love to see him finally with The Masters and he's definitely has the game for it. He's a highball hitter, which you need to be at Augusta.

"When he putts well, he is a real threat and looking at the game right now, a lot the big names are not in form and haven't won a tournament this year.

"So I'm very anxious to see what he does and how Rory starts off, especially in the opening round. Then if he puts himself in contention, can he get over the line? These are the questions Rory needs to answer.

"If he if he can slip on a green jacket next Sunday night, that would give him so much confidence and he could then go on a run of winning a whole bunch of majors in the next couple of years."

Harmon also picked out another two contenders from the European ranks to watch at Augusta, with Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland on his radar.

"I think Tommy is trending in the right direction," added Harmon. "He lost his way last year, but I like what I see from him now and he is a great player when he is on form.

"Another one who could shine is Victor Hovland. He's a hell of a golfer. He's very consistent, plays beautifully and makes very few mistakes.

"Sometimes he's not that good around the greens, which probably will kill you at Augusta, but he is one to watch if he finds his putting."

Watch The Masters live on Sky Sports and NOW. Coverage from April 4-10 will be exclusively live on Sky Sports Golf.