Rising star Mcilroy has classic victory in his sights
Dubai would be perfect venue for first Tour win as
Rory builds on close links with the Emirate
Rory McIlroy would like nothing better than to record his first professional tournament victory in the Dubai Desert Classic this week as he looks to continue his impressive climb towards a place among golf’s elite.
When he arrived in Dubai at this time last year, McIlroy, who had graduated from amateur circles only four months earlier, was ranked 190th in the world and had set himself the target of entering the top 100 in his first year on the PGA European Tour.
Returning to the Emirates Golf Club this week, the 19-year-old Northern Irishman sits proudly at No.38 in the world rankings with his sights set firmly on higher ground.
Feeling completely at home in Dubai, where he has forged a family-like association with his sponsors, luxury hotel company the Jumeirah Group, he has also bought a villa in the emirate and looks forward to making it his Tour base between Europe and Asia.
“It’s been great,” said McIlroy, reflecting on a brilliant first chapter to his professional career, highlighted by sudden death near misses in the Swiss Masters last September and the Hong Kong Open in November out of 11 top ten tournament finishes overall.
“I’ve exceeded my own expectations. I never thought I would get into the top 40 in the world at such an early stage in my career. My performance in Switzerland kick started me and gave me a lot of confidence.
“That was my best performance as a professional so far. I had a great first round and led virtually from start to finish. I took a lot of positives out of that, even though I lost the play-off.
“I’ve been beaten in another play-off since then but I felt positive about that as well because it shows I’ve been playing well to get in that position.
“I’ve also had some other really good finishes, and now I want to keep things going. I’m going to be playing in all the majors this year, and the World Championship events, and if I can keep playing as well as I have been, I think I can get into the world’s top 15, or event the top ten, by the end of the year.”
His sponsors in Dubai have been as pleasantly surprised as McIlroy by the great leaps he has made in such a short space of time. “We knew we were backing a winner in Rory, but to be honest we didn’t expect him to climb the world rankings so fast,” said Apo Demirtas, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer of Jumeirah Group.
“Just like Rory in his career, we’re going places as we develop our portfolio of luxury hotels around the world, and we’re thrilled to be partnering such an exciting and talented young golfer who is a great ambassador for the Jumeirah brand.”
McIlroy’s Dubai links, and his liking for the Majlis course at the Emirates Golf Club, means he has extra incentive to try for a first Tour victory when the Desert Classic begins on Thursday, especially after missing the cut 12 months ago.
“It would be a great place to do it,” he confessed. “Dubai has become a home from home for me. I feel really comfortable and relaxed here thanks to my friends at Jumeirah, and I’m definitely hoping to do better than last year.”
Possessing a maturity well beyond his years and boyish looks, McIlroy is clear about the direction he wants to follow this year.
“I’ve learnt a lot about what works for me,” he said. “When I first came out on Tour I was looking at what the other guys were doing. But I’ve realised that what I have to do to make myself play well is not necessarily what works for other players. It’s been a big learning curve.”
“My strength at the moment is my long game. My chipping and putting needs to be a little bit stronger. If I can get up and down once more each round, that’s four shots saved per tournament which can mean a huge difference.”
Whatever happens for McIlroy in 2009, one of the highlights will be his first appearance in the US Masters in April. “I’ve watched it on TV since I was a little boy and it’s going to be fantastic to experience the atmosphere at Augusta,” he said. “It’s great to be playing in it so early in my career.”
He will play a minimum of ten tournaments in the US this year, possibly as many as 13. “Three of the majors are in the US as well as three World Championship events, and you obviously want to play one US tournament before the majors and one afterwards,” he said.
“But there are so many good events in Europe now, the Race to Dubai has given the Tour a big boost, and I’m looking forward to playing on both Tours. It’s going to be a great year. My new home in Dubai should be ready by the end of the year and it’s definitely an advantage to have a base between my permanent home in Ireland, and Asia, because of the number of Tour events there.”
