McIlroy relishes front-runner's role in Dubai shoot-out

THE RACE TO DUBAI:YOU LOOK into the dark eyes of Rory McIlroy and the only thing that betrays his youth is the twinkle to be found there. He stands atop the European Tour's Order of Merit and he is like a target for others to aim at. For him, though, this is fun.

"From my amateur days, I always wanted to be the one they were chasing. I feel very comfortable in the role," admitted the 20-year-old Ulsterman.

Yesterday, as he stood for the first time on The Earth course that Greg Norman has transformed from desert sands into a coliseum that will stage the final shoot-out of the European Tour's season, McIlroy - who holds a lead of €128,173 over nearest pursuer Lee Westwood in the race to top the money list - looked anything but an innocent at this lark.

Nerves? Not a sign of them. McIlroy, seeking to become the second youngest winner of the Harry Vardon Trophy (only Seve Ballesteros was younger when first winning in 1979), was very much relaxed and looking forward to the task at hand, where he will start tomorrow's first round alongside Westwood in the final pairing.

As Pádraig Harrington, a three-time major winner who didn't discover how to win the Order of Merit until the ripe old age of 35, in 2006, observed of the young pretender, "Nobody out here looks on him as a 20 year-old. They look on Rory as a great player and that's it. He doesn't regard himself as a kid and nobody else does either.

"Everyone just sees a great player who is leading the Order of Merit. They don't take into account his age or anything like that."

A sign of the wise head on McIlroy's shoulders? He has been keeping his distance from his ISM stablemate Westwood, doing his own thing as he takes the next step towards fulfilling his ambition to finish the job and stay on as Europe's number one.

"There was a bit of banter between myself and Lee after he won at Portugal (last month) but I've not said anything since taking the lead back in Hong Kong (on Sunday)," said McIlroy: "It's not really my way of doing things. Lee and I get on very well but after shooting that 63 in the final round in Shanghai (in the HSBC), I said to myself 'right, you've the next two weeks to do this, let's get down and do it'.

"The last thing I want is for this to be built into a head-to-head between Lee and myself. For a start, Ross (Fisher) and Martin (Kaymer) can also win the Race to Dubai, there's four of us in it.

"On paper, Lee and I have the best chance but I don't want to turn up at the first tee on Thursday feeling as if it was a match play between me and Lee. Neither of us can afford to do that. I just want to keep a low profile; to prepare for this tournament and then play it as I would any other.

"I've decided to keep a low profile (away from the course). I've been eating with my mum and dad at night and I've not been hanging out with Chubby (Chandler) or any of the other guys. I'm just keeping to myself. . . . I just want to try and get on with the golf."

For sure, McIlroy, who is just over two years into his career as a professional but already on the cusp of achieving an exceptional feat in topping the European moneylist, has the respect of his peers. Westwood, his main challenger, suggested yesterday McIlroy was "maybe the best young player in the world, absolutely no doubt about it for me . . . . it's remarkable, really, how good he's got so quickly."

But Westwood, a winner of the Order of Merit in 2000, also made the point that experience can count when the going gets tough. "It's better to have been in that position (before) than to not have. You know what to expect, and if you've handled it well before, you can always feed off that."

McIlroy, though, knows what he has to do to win. And he knows what it would mean to him. He may also have decided to take up a US Tour card for next year, but there is little doubt in his mind this run-in for the European Tour title is more exciting than the US Tour's FedEx Cup equivalent.

As he put it, "I'm not trying to take anything away from the FedEx Cup but the whole season (in Europe) comes down to just this one tournament, whereas they have the four play-offs in the US. This has been really exciting because I've had the lead, then Lee has had the lead, then I've taken it back again; then Martin's come back and put in a couple of really good finishes."

The pot is bubbling very nicely indeed.