RORY FIRED BY HIS ONE BIG MISSION
RORY McILROY claims he is not far off clambering his way back to the world No.1 spot.
Northern Ireland’s four-time Major winner heads into the CJ Cup in Las Vegas – which starts today – ranked 14th in the world and seemingly way off the summit.
But in America’s gambling capital, McIlroy, 32, insists all you need is a little bit of luck.
He said: “I think when I’m playing my best, I’m the best player in the world.
“I haven’t played like that for a while, though, but I don’t feel I need to go that far back.
“When the pandemic hit 18 months ago I was the No.1 player in the world so I don’t have to look that far back to see my name at the top of the rankings.
“Obviously the last 18 months haven’t been what I wanted them to be.
“But I’m not that far away. There’s a ton of great players out there and the talent pool just gets deeper every year.
“I try to play if off with saying, ‘Golf doesn’t define me and I’ve got balance in my life and I’m happy away from the course’ and that’s true.
“But if I’m honest sometimes I sort of maybe use that as a way to lessen the blow if I don’t play good golf. There’s a lot of chance in winning a golf tournament – there’s so many things that have to fall in your favour.”
McIlroy, in his first event since the Ryder Cup, admitted he had been surprised by his tears after the USA thrashed Europe 19-9 last month.
He was dropped by skipper Padraig Harrington (above) for Saturday’s foursomes at Whistling Straits – the first time he had sat out a session.
McIlroy added: “Yeah, it did surprise me. I don’t normally get that emotional about golf.
“But, it’s a very emotionally charged week. I think it was a good thing for me. I maybe realised a couple things about myself.”