Rory McIlroy may have still not won a title in 2017 but he has still been named as the man to beat at this week's USA PGA Championship by one of his major rivals on the tour.Despite coming off a major success at The British Open, Jordan Spieth believes that McIlroy is a big threat for the tournament which takes place at Quail Hollow in North Carolina from Thursday.And after playing alongside him last week, Spieth thinks his rival is hitting form at just the right time.

*LIVE COVERAGE*

GIVEMESPORT will broadcast live coverage of the US PGA Championship on Facebook from 10-13 August. Live coverage starts Thursday 10 August, 18:00-00:15 HERE

"I played with him the first two days at the WGC Bridgestone , and the way that he is driving the golf ball, if he continues to do it there he just has a massive advantage over the field at that point," Spieth said, as per Eir Sport.

McIlroy tied for fifth at the Firestone Country Club and hit 52 drives of 300 or more yards during his four rounds.

The Northern Irishman, a winner of four majors in his career, has not tasted success in a major since the 2014 PGA Championship (which was his second victory after 2011).

This season has seen the 28-year-old have a somewhat chequered record in the majors to date, with two top ten finishes at The Masters (7th) and The Open (4th) but missing the cut at the U.S Open.

McIlroy also recently made a change to his team after splitting with his caddie of nine years, JP Fitzgerald.

He also changed his club supplier after Nike pulled out of equipment market as well as hiring a new putting coach, after struggling on the greens for a period earlier in the year.

In terms of Spieth, he feels that winning his second major for 2017 will be tough as he is still scratching around for the perfect performance.

"I know what I need to work on, really each part of the game, there's something that I need to just put in some work with, but I do know what it is and that's the best part."

Should Spieth eventually claim his missing major, he will join an exclusive club.

Currently, only Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen have been able to achieve a victory at all four majors

Although the 24-year-old knows his game better than anyone, there is an old adage that you never write off a champion.

Don't be surprised to Spieth to be around the mark when the major is up for grabs on Sunday.