McIlroy sees Fanling as place to take next step on the road to stardom
Irish teenage sensation Rory McIlroy has grand ambitions. Today he sets out on a quest for his first professional tournament win and hopefully a place in the 2008 European Ryder Cup team.
The 18-year-old from Holywood in Northern Ireland made a sensational start to his professional career in September by making the cut in his first event and then finishing joint third in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland early last month to virtually secure his playing card for the 2008 PGA European Tour season.
Two weeks later McIlroy was joint leader of the Madrid Open midway through the final round, and ended up tied fourth to earn a cheque for more than Euro40,000 (HK$454,000). He finished the 2007 season with a ranking of 95 from his four starts and winnings of more than Euro277,000.
Winning tournaments is McIlroy's only goal, and this week he stands a good chance to win or place highly in the 144-man UBS Hong Kong Open field, as he has played the Fanling course several times.
'I'm looking forward to the challenge,' said McIlroy after playing in yesterday's pro-am event. 'My goal for the 2008 season is to win a tournament as quickly as possible and to qualify for the European Ryder Cup team. This would be a good week to get my first win.
'Sergio Garcia is the only one to have qualified for the Ryder Cup in his rookie season, and I want to be the second.'