McIlroy back where he started as he eyes up another 15 years at top
ON HIS return to Abu Dhabi, where he first played as an 18-year-old talent on the rise, Rory McIlroy revealed he is targeting another 15 years at the top of world golf.
That would take the fourtime Major champion deep into his 40s, something he never imagined starting out on Tour.
At 31, McIlroy is still on the front nine in terms of his professional career, but he’s approaching the turn, as he acknowledged ahead of the HSBC Championship which starts today.
‘When I came here to Abu Dhabi as an 18-year-old, my first year on The European Tour and I honestly really couldn’t see myself at that point playing past 40,’ he said. ‘And then I’m 31 now and I’m like, “Geez, that doesn’t seem like that far away.”
‘Look, I still feel like I have a good 15 years left in me. If I’m competitive and can still play, I can see myself doing what the likes of Lee (Westwood) and Tiger (Woods) and Phil (Mickelson) have done over the past couple of years.’
McIlroy also revealed he was aware that Woods’ underwent back surgery just before Christmas and tipped the 15time major winner to return ahead of the US Masters in April.
The Co Down man said: ‘I’ve known for a while. It happened on the 23rd of December. I’m obviously pretty close with him. In his words, it was a small procedure, obviously any time you’re being cut into, you try to avoid that as much as you can. But yeah, he was back on his feet the next day.
‘He should be back for the Masters, if not before that. I think he’ll be just fine,’ said McIlroy, who noted that Woods had back surgery four times prior to his fifth green jacket triumph in 2019.
Of the youthful Americans who may become the next serial winner of majors after Woods, one of them, Justin Thomas, is in the elite Abu Dhabi field for the Rolex Series event.
It’s his first appearance since his homphobic slur in Hawaii following a missed putt in the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. McIlroy defended Thomas yesterday, remarking: ‘Look, he made a mistake; he owned up to it, and he’ll be better because of it. He’ll maybe not be as ignorant to things that offend people, I guess.
‘He said he messed up; he’s going to try to be better. And you know, Justin is true to his word. He will be.’
Regarding his own game, McIlroy said he’s itching to win again, for the first time since November 2019. ‘That last win does feel like quite a long time ago,’ he admitted.
‘Of the 13 times I’ve played a first tournament of a season in my pro career, I’ve had 11 top fives. The fact that there is no win in there is a little... a little surprising.
‘I started my season in Abu Dhabi for 11 straight years, 2008 to 2018 and it’s worked well for me. I’ve done everything but win here. I’ll try again for the 12th time, and see if I can get the job done.’
Always fascinated by data, McIlroy has scrutinised his 2020 record and knows what he needs to be better at.
‘There were a couple of stats that stood out to me last year. One of the things was approach play out of the rough was way down than what it was the previous year. I hit 60% of fairways, so that means 40% of the time I’m hitting out of the rough, which is quite a lot.
‘Also putting between four and eight feet wasn’t quite as good as it was. ‘In terms of goals, I want to get those better.’
“I’ve done
everything but win here”