Rory McIlroy sets sights on six wins in 2020 as he starts year at Torrey Pines with the chance to return to world No 1
Rory McIlroy was not expecting to have a shot at usurping Brooks Koepka at the top of rankings in his first start of 2020, but is "excited" to have the opportunity this week to return to world No 1 after a near five-year absence. However, he is thinking even higher than the summit and has revealed that it is his “goal to win six times this year”.
The Irishman likes to set himself a public challenge. Just after Kopeka had brutally swatted him away in the final round of the World Golf Championship event in Memphis last July, McIlroy stated his intention to topple the American in the rankings as soon as possible. The experts rolled their eyes and it can only be presumed that Koepka did, too, when the American summarily dismissed talk of a “rivalry” between the two.
But as McIlroy went into overdrive in the back end of the season, so Koepka went into reverse, the brakes being applied when a knee complaint required stem cell surgery. And after Koepka could only finish in a tie for 34th on his opener in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, McIlroy’s challenge was made clear for the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines - win.
“I didn’t know I was going to get a chance this early, but this has been a goal of mine for a while,” McIlroy said in his press conference at the San Diego layout. “Winning four times last year, I closed the gap a little. There was a point in the middle of last year where I was four ranking points behind Brooks, which is a big gap.
“So it wasn’t on the radar when I was flying back from Ireland. But then, once I’d won the Tour Championship and then won again in China, I kind of saw that gap closing. Then it sort of became, ‘huh, I’m actually close’.”
In truth, a reclamation of the mantle can be considered long overdue. It is remarkable the 30-year-old has spent so long looking up rather than down. Granted, there was the ankle ligament damage sustained in the infamous kick-about with mates that forced him to miss the Open at St Andrews in 2015, but McIlroy has hardly been blighted by injuries in this period. Rather, he found himself being bypassed by peers previously considered his unequal.
In all, six players have worn the crown since he was dethroned in September, 2015 after holding the spot for 92 from the previous 181 weeks - Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Justin Rose and Koepka.
McIlroy appreciates what is on the line, but is prepared to play down expectations not only because of his new-found patience and focus on an overall improvement on his statistical performance but more pertinently due to his lack of golf activity over his Christmas downtime in Northern Ireland.
“I’m coming out after a six-week break of not hitting any shots,” Mcilroy said, before showing the audience his palms.
“I’ve got cuts on my hand from coming back. But yeah, we all have egos out here and it would be great to get back there. But it wasn’t on the top of the list of my goals for this year. You know, the most titles I’ve ever won in a season is five, so I’ve set my target of six. So if it does not happen this week, world No 1 would be a byproduct of that.”
Despite his note of caution, McIlroy is still the bookmakers’ favourite and that is hardly surprising considering the fact he has racked up a second, first and fourth in his three most recent starts and, indeed, finished fifth on his Torrey debut 12 months ago.
Yet the field is anything but limited, with Justin Rose, the defending champion, and Jon Rahm in opposition, as well as Tiger Woods. “This is a tough place to start,” McIlroy said. “We are being thrown into the deep end."
