I am not thinking of being No1 – Mcilroy

With a win at the WGC-DELL Match Play here this week, Rory Mcilroy could return to world No1 after a four-year gap in which six others have assumed the throne that many believe is rightfully that of the Irishman.

Yet while that is enticing enough, there is another possibility which is making the pulses soar at the Austin Country Club. Should Mcilroy and Tiger Woods both win their pools, they will play each other in the last 16 on Saturday. It would be the first time they have ever faced each other in this format.

The old Mcilroy would have found it irresistible to consider both eventualities, but the new Mcilroy insists it is not on his mind. When asked about Woods, this self-confessed “Tiger geek” replied: “There’s a long way to go. I saw that Fitz [England’s Matt Fitzpatrick] was in my group, and we have become pretty close over the last couple of years.

“So I texted him last night and said, ‘Let’s make sure we both have something to play for when we play each other in the last pool game on Friday.’ That’s honestly as far as I’ve thought ahead.”

And the prospect of jumping from fourth to the top of the rankings, a previouslystated aim he will achieve if he emulates his 2015 success in this event and Dustin Johnson fails to reach the semi-finals and Justin Rose the final?

“No, not really,” he said, when asked if it was a big thing. “The big thing is winning my match tomorrow. That’s the first step in the process and if I win seven matches this week, then awesome. But, again, winning tournaments, getting No1, all those accolades, it’s a by-product of doing all the little things right. Step by step they will add up to all that stuff that other people find important.”

Mcilroy has gone out in the pool stages for the past two years. He plays the American big-hitter Luke List today. Woods tackles current PGA Tour rookie of the year Aaron Wise, while England’s Tom Lewis squares up to world No 3 Brooks Koepka.