Like any born winner, Rory McIlroy confessed yesterday to being disappointed that he did not win more last year in what his ever-growing army of admirers generally considered to be a stellar second full season in the professional ranks. Sometimes you have to remind yourself when watching McIlroy in action on and off the golf course that this brilliant young Irishman is still only 20 and can look forward confidently to what looks sure to be a magnificent career.
He has achieved so much in such a short time but there was no mistaking the message as he prepared to mount what should be a strong challenge for this week's Abu Dhabi Golf Championship that those achievements fell well short of satisfying his far-reaching ambitions. "I have won only the one tournament so far," McIlroy declared, referring to his triumph in last year's Dubai Desert Classic. "One of my big goals this year is to add some more titles to my record.
"I felt I put myself in a lot of good positions over the last year so it has to be slightly disappointing that I managed to convert only one of them. "So I would love to start this season with a victory, either here or by defending my title in Dubai. That early win last year took the pressure off a little bit and it allows you to play with more freedom for a while." It seemed during the remainder of last season a question of when rather than if McIlroy would add a second honour to his record but he was frustrated in that quest.
The youngster would have been a much more contented figure if he had fulfilled expectations in November by capturing the inaugural Race to Dubai - the coveted prize that recognises Europe's best golfer of the year in terms of euros accumulated. "I had a good chance of taking that award but a certain golfer played much better than the rest of us that week," reflected McIlroy, who led the order of merit going into the concluding Dubai World Championship in which his main rival Lee Westwood produced a 23-under-par masterclass.
"Fifteen under par wasn't bad," he said of his own third-placed performance around the new Earth Course. "But Lee was just too good." The speed of McIlroy's ascent of the world rankings list would satiate even the hungriest of competitors. Barely a year after turning professional, he found himself holding on to a place in the elite top-40 which earned him an invitation to the US Masters last April.
That unexpectedly high ranking led to himself setting a top-20 target this time last year but his Majlis triumph in the Desert Classic had him swiftly re-adjusting his sights on a top-10 finish to the year which came about with his podium placing in the Dubai World Championship. Now the aim is to be among the world's top five - an objective which few would suggest is out of reach as he prepares to play a reasonable percentage of his golf on the US PGA Tour.
That decision does not rule him out as a serious contender for the second Race to Dubai, he maintained. "I might be playing less in Europe than last year but if I can turn some of my top-five finishes into top-threes and maybe win a couple more then there is no reason why I can't be challenging again at the top of the European money list." McIlroy, who finished fifth here last year behind England's Paul Casey, begins his challenge in top-class company alongside Sweden's Henrik Stenson and the Spaniard Sergio Garcia. That threeball is guaranteed to attract one of the biggest galleries of the opening day when they arrive on the first tee at 12.05 tomorrow.
McIlroy thoroughly enjoyed his extended Christmas break at his Holywood home just outside Belfast even though the extremely seasonal weather left him with hardly an opportunity to pursue any outdoor activities other than "make snowmen and have snowball fights". He was not complaining about the enforced five weeks of inactivity, though. "It was nice to get a complete break and not hit a ball for such a long time. I needed that after such an exhausting campaign. "It has rekindled my desire. It makes you realise how lucky you are to be playing this wonderful game for a living and it's great to be back out here in the sunshine on a course that I enjoy enormously."
McIlroy went as far as describing the National course as his favourite of all he has played in the Gulf region so he admitted to a feeling of regret on hearing the news that the tournament may move to Gary Player's Beach Course at Saadiyat Island next year. "Yes it would be sad to see the tournament leave here because this course is set up perfectly, especially for the type of game I play," he said.
"But I can understand Abu Dhabi as an emirate wanting to move their big tournaments to the newest places and places where they can advertise their region as well as they can." @Email:wjohnson@thenational.ae