Gearing up for the US invasion

TOUR NEWS ROUND-UP:PERFECT PLANNING, really. Rory McIlroy, who is up to 16th in the latest world rankings after his maiden tour win in the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday, has over a fortnight to get his feet back on terra firma before he embarks on an invasion of the United States.

That next career move has taken on an even greater significance as he seeks to maintain an upward graph that has Colin Montgomerie, among others, proclaiming him “a superstar in the making”.

McIlroy’s giant strides in his 16 months as a professional have seen him move from 232nd in the world at the end of 2007, not long after turning professional, to becoming the youngest player to break into the world’s top-20.

That has left American tournament organisers licking their lips in anticipation as he heads Stateside for a run of big events over the next four months.

In fact, the 19-year-old Ulsterman won’t play again in Europe until the Irish Open at Baltray in May, as his new status as one of the most marketable players in the game has him following a schedule that includes the Accenture Matchplay this month, the WGC-CA Championship in Doral next month, the US Masters at Augusta in April and the Players Championship at Sawgrass in May.

Although McIlroy has the Race to Dubai as one of his season’s targets (critically, the two WGCs and the three majors in the US count towards the European Tour’s order of merit), he will have to juggle a schedule on both sides of the Atlantic.

But he doesn’t envisage any problems on that front.

“I think the world is getting so small that a lot of guys manage easily to play a little bit on both tours and that’s what I would like to do, sort of juggle the time in between,” said McIlroy.

“I just have to weigh it up and try and find the right balance to play events that you like to play in Europe and then play the ones you like in the States.”

McIlroy’s schedule will see him return to action in the Accenture Matchplay in three weeks, followed by two tournaments in Florida, the Honda Classic and the CA Championship.

Then, after a short break, he will appear at the Houston Open ahead of a maiden appearance at the Masters.

Interestingly, Paddy Power bookmakers, who offered odds of 200 to 1 on McIlroy last November to win in Augusta, have slashed his odds down to 40 to 1.

McIlroy arrived home in Belfast yesterday, completing the final leg of the journey from Birmingham after his flight out of Heathrow was cancelled.

One thing he has had to do with immediate effect is to reset his goals now that he has secured a first win.

And it is that visit to the Masters, where he has arranged practice rounds with Pádraig Harrington and Ernie Els, and has requested (via Mark O’Meara) another with Tiger Woods, that will dominate his thoughts.

McIlroy’s rise is also heightening expectations. As his manager, Chubby Chandler, observed, “he’s golf’s new superstar, the most exciting talent the game has seen since Tiger Woods charged on to the scene . . . I’ll be very surprised if Rory isn’t inside the top-10 (in the world) before the season gathers many more divots.”

Darren Clarke remarked, “It’s now only a matter of time before he wins more and more tournaments, and the bigger the better. He most definitely will be a great champion.

“I don’t feel there are going to be any tournaments that will not be too big for him to win.”

The good thing for McIlroy is he has some breathing space at home in Holywood in north Down before he is due to return to tournament play.

“I’ll have to reassess my goals,” he admitted, “but I go out with the same mind-set every week, to try and get myself into contention going into the back nine on Sunday and that’s my goal every week.”

For the next few months at least, McIlroy’s focus will be on playing in America which, more than anything, confirms his new status as he has been able to map out an itinerary that enables him to pick and choose when and where he plays in the run-up to the Masters.

McIlroy’s win in Dubai was the ninth success by Ireland’s touring professionals in less than a year.

Harrington, meanwhile, resumes tournament play this week in the Buick Invitational in Torrey Pines.

It marks the start of a four-week stint in the US for the triple major winner, as he also plays in the Pebble Beach pro-am, the LA Open at Riviera and the Accenture Matchplay as the Dubliner gets his season under way in earnest.

World rankings

US unless stated

Last week's positions in brackets

1. (1) Tiger Woods 10.46 ave pts

2. (2) Sergio Garcia (Spn) 7.96

3. (3) Pádraig Harrington (Ire) 6.56

4. (4) Phil Mickelson 6.51

5. (5) Vijay Singh (Fiji) 6.40

6. (7) Henrik Stenson (Swe) 5.25

7. (7) Robert Karlsson (Swe) 5.11

8. (6) Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 5.09

9. (15) Kenny Perry 4.81

10. (9) Anthony Kim 4.70

11. (10) Camilo Villegas (Col) 4.62

12. (11) Lee Westwood (Eng) 4.44

13. (12) Ernie Els (Rsa) 4.30

14. (13) Jim Furyk 4.00

15. (22) Justin Rose (Eng) 3.91

16. (39) Rory McIlroy (N Ire) 3.86

17. (14) Adam Scott (Aus) 3.85

18. (16) Steve Stricker 3.69

19. (17) Stewart Cink 3.54

20. (18) KJ Choi (S Kor) 3.51