Rory McIlroy: ‘I believe I can beat anyone in the world’

IT WAS a cheeky question. The world No 1 was asked who he thought was the best golfer on the planet right now. It raised a smile from Rory McIlroy before he delivered his answer without a hint of arrogance. In short, he said the rankings don’t lie heading into the £3.6 million BMW PGA Championship starting at Wentworth today.

“You have to believe that you are better than anyone else,” he replied. “On my day, I believe I can beat anyone in the world. It’s just finding that capability of when you’re not playing your best to still come out on top. That’s the thing I’m trying to learn how to do, because I’ve proved in the past that, when I am on my game, I’m pretty hard to beat.”

Last year’s US Open, for example. McIlroy claimed his first major victory by a resounding eight shots at Congressional. It was the moment, the 23-year-old revealed, that he believed he could become the world’s top player, a feat he achieved for the first time earlier this year.

“I think there’s a difference between thinking you have the potential to be the best player in the world and actually becoming the No 1,” he added. “After Congressional, I started thinking of myself as one of the elite players and, from then on, I’ve played consistently well, winning a couple of times [Hong Kong Open and Honda Classic].”

McIlroy’s hold on the No 1 spot could be loosened this weekend. Luke Donald will certainly be top dog again if he makes a successful defence of his title over the leafy Surrey course. A whole host of other permutations could also signal another changeover on Sunday, with McIlroy and Donald having already swapped places on a handful of occasions over the past few weeks.

For McIlroy, it’s a first appearance in mainland Europe since last October’s Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews, where he chased home fellow Ulsterman Michael Hoey. The McIlroy mop has been shorn in the intervening period, during which time he has spent lots of time with girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki, the tennis player. He missed the cut last time out, in The Players’ Championship at Sawgrass, but believes Wentworth suits his eye better than that venue.

He first set foot on the East Course as a ten-year-old, scampering around it as a spectator at the World Match Play Championship, sadly no longer held here.

“My mum and dad left me at the first tee at 8am in the morning and I didn’t see them until 6pm at night – it was great,” he recalled. “I had endless amounts of energy and ran 36 holes every day. The first year I came over [in 1999] I wanted to see Sergio [Garcia] as I had never seen him in person. Monty beat [Mark O’Meara] in the final that year and I also remember Woosie beating [Padraig] Harrington in the final [two years later].”

McIlroy’s love affair with Wentworth grew during a stay nearby with Sam Torrance and his family. “When I was 12, I came over to stay with Daniel Torrance [Sam’s son] and played this course every day for a week,” he added. “It’s a course I love and, though I haven’t played well over the last couple of years [24th a year ago and 48th two years ago], it’s a place I enjoy coming back to.”

He hopes to enjoy it even more this week thanks to fresh changes suggested by Ernie Els, one of his playing partners today along with Martin Laird. The 12th, for instance, has been restored as a par-5. And, at the much-maligned 18th, the right side of the fairway has been made more inviting, as has the second shot due to part of a tree up near the green being brought down by a winter storm.

“I think they have improved the golf course and improved its playability,” observed McIlroy of a 7,302-yard par-72 layout. “I think you’ll see lower scores, which is what fans want to see. Six-under was the winning score last year, but this year I think it will be into double digits.”

Only Nick Faldo [1980 and 1981] and Colin Montgomerie, who won it three times from 1990, have successfully defended this title. Now Donald, who beat Lee Westwood in a play-off 12 months ago, is aiming to join the club. Yet that it is not what he truly craves. “I want to win majors. I’m not going to shy away from it – that’s the thing that’s missing on my resume,” said the 34-year-old.

He collected three trophies, including Players’ Player of the Year with an incredible 95 per cent of the vote at the European Tour’s awards dinner at a Heathrow hotel on Tuesday night. Sitting close to him, however, were US Open champion McIlroy, Open champion Darren Clarke, last year’s Masters winner Charl Schwartzel and 2010 USPGA champion Martin Kaymer.

“I was very jealous to see some of those trophies and some of those guys,” added Donald. “Watching them is motivating to get yourself to work harder to try and achieve that. Hopefully that will happen.”

As always, the great and good of European golf have gathered at Virginia Water, to the west of London. The field includes nine former European No 1s and 14 major champions with a combined 20 major titles between them. It’s a fitting line-up for Chris Kennedy, the man who is preparing the East Course for the last time before retiring back to Scotland and handing over the reins to compatriot Kenny Mackay.

“It’s the most difficult build-up I have ever known,” reported Kennedy on a day, ironically, when the sun was splitting the sky. “March was the warmest and driest in 120 years and April was the wettest on record. Now May is shaping up to be the coldest in decades. We’ve had hail, white frosts and driving rain. It’s been so hard getting quality grass to grow.”