RORY McIlroy will NOT go on to dominate golf like Tiger Woods did in his heyday despite his stunning Open victory at Hoylake - because other players have raised the bar.

That was the prediction from McIlroy's fellow Irishman Graeme McDowell today in the wake of his latest Major triumph.

The 25-year-old completed a wire-to-wire win at Royal Liverpool on Sunday to lift the Claret Jug for the first time.

The former US Open and US PGA champion now needs to win the US Masters to become just the sixth man in history to win a career Grand Slam.

And the European Ryder Cup star has admitted he wants to use the triumph as a springboard to becoming the leading force in the game.

But former US Open champion McDowell, who finished 10th on Merseyside, doubts his compatriot will have things all his own way.

He said: "I don't think that we'll ever see the dominance that Tiger enjoyed in the late 1990s and early 2000s ever again in golf.

"There are so many good players around now. For every Rory McIlroy there is an Adam Scott, a Jordan Spieth, a Sergio Garcia, a Tiger or a Phil.

"The talent pool is so deep. Everyone out here on tour is so good. It will be very hard for Rory to dominate the sport in the way Tiger did. I don't think we'll see anybody dominate unless somebody comes along who can perfect the unperfectable.

"But the best players in the world are pretty much playing as well as you can possibly play at this moment in time. This game is hard.

"Having said that, to win three Majors by the age of 25 is pretty good. We can only sit back and admire how good Rory is."

McDowell has a good point. As impressive and deserved as his countryman's Open win was, he did experience his fair share of luck at Hoylake.

Mclroy was out in the best weather conditions in the opening two rounds on Thursday and Friday and took advantage of them to card identical 66s.

Others in the 156-strong field were not so fortunate. Adam Scott, for example, was out in the wind and the rain on the first two days.

The world No.1 performed brilliantly in the circumstances; he signed off with a 66 on Sunday to finish in a tie for fifth place five shots back.

Where would the Australian have finished if the draw had been kinder to him? Where, for that matter, would his Irish rival have been placed if he had not been so fortunate?

Meanwhile, McDowell has vowed to make a late push to join McIlroy on the European team that will take on the United States in the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in September.

The French Open champion said: "I am fighting my own battle. I want to be at Gleneagles. That is a huge goal for me.

"I have left it a little bit late, but hopefully my freshness will pay off."