Euro Ryder Cup captain Olazabal claims McIlroy ‘close to Tiger Woods in prime’

London: Europe Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal has said Rory McIlroy is playing almost as well as Tiger Woods in his prime.

McIlroy goes into this week`s event at Medinah as the world number one and a marked man in the eyes of Woods. The Northern Irishman has won three times in his last five events including a second major at the US PGA. “You`re always going to want to try and take out their best player - that`s just part of the deal. I would say that he is, at this moment, very close to how good Tiger was in that time between 1999 and 2002," said European skipper Olazabal,” Olazabal was quoted as saying in an interview. “He`s full of confidence. He`s got the whole game and in that regard it`s great to have players like that on your team,” he added. “Obviously we have the world number one, he`s playing great. Even though he didn`t win the FedEx Cup (despite winning two of the four play-off events), the way he`s played the last few months, he`s been outstanding,” he said. ANI