World No. 1 aiming to break Sawgrass duck

McIlroy plays down Spieth rivalry ahead of $10m Players Championship in Florida

Rory McIlroy, fresh from celebrating his World Golf Championships Match Play triumph — and his 26th birthday — is hoping to cure his TPC Sawgrass headache at last.

The world No. 1 has had mixed results in The Players Championship, the US PGA Tour’s $10 million (Dh36.7 million) flagship event that began yesterday in Florida.

He missed the cut in his first three appearances. In 2013 he opened with a 66 en route to a share of eighth place and last year tied for sixth.

He acknowledged that the precision required off the tee at TPC Sawgrass can be frustrating to a player of his aggressive instincts.

“It’s always hard for me when I can’t get the driver in my hand because I feel like, when I do get the driver in my hand, I can give myself an advantage over the rest of the field,” McIlroy said.

“It’s just about being very patient and approaching it a different way, winning a different way. I feel that would make me a more complete player.”

The high-profile tournament — called one of the most important of the year by McIlroy — will see the Northern Irishman paired with Masters champion Jordan Spieth and Australian Jason Day.

The group featuring McIlroy and world No. 2 Spieth is sure to fuel the talk of a rivalry between the two — but McIlroy said he doesn’t need that kind of buzz to build his enthusiasm.

“I don’t think I need any extra incentive to get the juices flowing this week,” he said, refusing to be drawn into the rivalry hype.

Last year, he said, Rickie Fowler was deemed the man most likely to challenge him.

“This year it’s Jordan, might be someone else, could have been Tiger,” McIlroy said. “It’s sort of been four or five rivalries over the past year. It doesn’t really do anything for me.”