The reviews read like the propaganda from the latest Hollywood blockbuster release.

When he was 14, Rory McIlroy stood out to Ryder Cup star Darren Clarke, who invited the junior golfer to call for advice any time. (Chris Thelen/Staff)

"The next No. 1!" -- Ernie Els, three-time major winner.

"By far the best young player I've ever played with." -- Geoff Ogilvy, U.S. Open champ and three-time World Golf Championships winner.

"Better than Tiger was ..." -- Mark O'Meara, two-time major winner and Tiger Woods confidant.

You half expect to see The Rory McIlroy Story rated PG-19 (Prodigy Golfer age 19).

Rory McIlroy, from Northern Ireland, is still a teenager with only one major championship appearance on his résumé and one month's experience playing golf in the United States. But he is the most highly anticipated rookie to come to Augusta National Golf Club since perhaps Sergio Garcia in 1999.

"That's me 10 years ago," said Garcia, currently ranked No. 3 in the world, as the mop-topped McIlroy comfortably practiced amid the tumult at the Honda Classic last month.

Actually, McIlroy is bigger than Garcia was when he showed up as an amateur at Augusta National. McIlroy is already ranked No. 17 in the world thanks to a torrid conclusion to 2008 and an early season breakout European Tour victory in Dubai.

"I'm thinking to myself, 'I'm pretty good, and I deserve to be out here,' " McIlroy said. "I feel as if I'm one of the best and that I can just go out and play."

Any skeptics he might have had were quieted when he cruised to the quarterfinals of the WGC-Accenture Match Play in his U.S. debut and backed it up with a tie for 13th at the Honda Classic.

The list of accomplished players singing his praises is a long one.

"Alastair (Matheson) said in the car on the way back, 'If you want to be second best in the world, you're going to have to be better than him,'" Ogilvy said of the conversation with his caddie before holding off the teenager 2 and 1 in Tucson, Ariz. "The hype is fair, because he's the real deal."

It's enough to make a kid blush, but McIlroy seems unfazed by the talk surrounding him.

"You can't let those things sort of get into your head," McIlroy said. "But you know, it's obviously nice for those guys to say those things about me. You know, it obviously fills you with a bit of confidence that you're doing the right things, so it's good to get all of these compliments. You still have to go out and play good golf at the end of the day."

McIlroy arrived on the world scene as a perfectly polished rising star at the 2007 British Open at Carnoustie. He shot 68 in the first round on the hardest links course in the world and was trotted out in front of the worldwide press corps. The week before, European mega-agent Chubby Chandler had suggested media training for the 17-year-old. But before he ever got a lesson, he dazzled everyone with his modesty and poise on the podium.

"At the end of the week I told him I canceled it because he didn't need it," Chandler said. "He's just him. He's been doing it since he was 10 or 11."

McIlroy grew up in the media limelight much like a certain American golfer of some repute. He met Darren Clarke while playing Royal Portrush on his ninth birthday, and a few years later stood out so much at Clarke's junior golf foundation that the Ryder Cup star gave the kid his personal phone number and told him to call any time for advice or to come over and practice.

"To have one of the top players in the world's phone number just to ring up and ask advice for or anything, it was pretty cool," McIlroy said. "Being 14, I probably didn't use it enough."

Said Clarke: "You can always spot talent in any sport, and he stood out from the rest. Rory is just that little bit special person that you come across every now and again."

The comparisons to Tiger Woods have raised plenty of eyebrows, because so many can't-miss guys have already failed to measure up to the 14-time major winner. But McIlroy doesn't make any bold predictions that he will chase the records of the hero whose poster and replica scorecard from the 1997 Masters adorn his bedroom wall.

"You have to have someone to compare yourself against, or you always have someone that sets the bar, and Tiger has been that person for the last 15 years," McIlroy said. "If I can get anywhere close to him, I'll be very happy."

Even Woods thinks McIlroy has No. 1 potential.

"Certainly he has the talent. We can all see it," Woods said. "The way he hits the golf ball, the way he putts, the way he can chip, get up-and-down. He has the composure. He has all of the components to be the best player in the world, there's no doubt."

Those who know him best believe he will pose a challenge to Woods for years to come and will benefit from the world's No. 1 player having a 13-year head start before reaching his own prime a decade down the road.

"He's as good as I've ever seen," said Chandler, who has represented many of the United Kingdom's best.

"Rory's got a hell of a game for 19 years old, and if he keeps going the way that he's going I have no doubt he can get up there," Clarke said.

"I think that you're probably looking at the next No. 1 in the world with him," said Els. "He's going to be a major factor in world golf."

How about this week at Augusta National? Is he ready?

"I'll be coming in there as probably one of the top 20 players in the world, so you've got to have to think, if you play well enough, you've got a chance to win," McIlroy said without the slightest hint of conceit. "And that's what my goal is at the end of the week, to play well enough to give myself a chance on Sunday, to have a chance of getting a green jacket."

Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219 or scott.michaux@augustachronicle.com.