Rory McIlroy all geared-up for the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship this week
World number two Rory McIlroy is all charged up for his bid in this week’s WGC Accenture Match Play Championship and has little doubt about his success in the opening round against South African George Coetzee.
McIlroy is poised on number two on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), after a blistering start of the year.
He toppled Lee Westwood from the number two spot, after consecutive strong finishes in the Middle Eastern tourneys on the European Tour.
Meanwhile Coetzee, still looking for his maiden European Tour victory, has played brilliantly through the closing end of the 2011. He has already posted some strong finishes in the current season.
He made it into the 64-man field at WGC Accenture Match Play Championship event, when Paul Casey of England and Phil Mickelson of the US decided to stay away from the event.
McIlroy said, “I always look forward to this event every year. It’s a little bit of a change from what we usually play. We only get to play match play a couple of times a year. You need to be pretty aggressive from the start and try to get off to a good start. It would be nice to get into a good run this week”.
The 22-year-old Irishman, winner of the coveted US Open title last year, is little intimidated by the raging South African.
He admits that Coetzee has done amazingly well at the beginning of the year but very few consider him a viable threat.
McIlroy added, “He’s been playing well the last couple of weeks. To be honest, that’s all I really know about it. I have seen him up there on leaderboards. There is no easy match in this tournament, especially over 18 holes. Anyone can beat anyone”.
McIlroy was comparatively an unknown player at the beginning of the 2011 season but played stunning golf throughout the year to surge into contention.
He played brilliantly through the 54-hole stretch in Masters but failed to keep up with the pace of events in the final round.
Starting off the final round with four shot lead, McIlroy shot an over-par 80 to succumb to a colossal loss.
He shot back to stardom when he clinched a wire-to-wire victory at the US Open, becoming the youngest player to do so after Bobby Jones.
Some of the finest players in the world will return to the windy Ritz-Carlton at Doral, Tucson, Arizona to bid for the top slot of the most revered Match Play events in the world.
The scenic layout, designed on the sand dunes of the Arizona desert, coupled with high winds and warm weather, provides stiff challenge to the field.
The event held last year, received slight drizzles in the morning and a little snow on the third day of the event, although none of the rounds were shortened or cancelled.
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