Rory letting it rip and ready to get back to the top, says G-Mac

Any suggestion of a rift between Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell was clearly dispelled on the opening day of the BMW Masters in Shanghai.

While they’re officially former management stablemates, the US Open winning duo were very much at ease in each other’s company over some five hours and despite the bitterly cold and windy conditions in the Chinese financial capital.

After signing for a 71, McDowell praised McIlroy, declaring the golf world should prepare themselves for a return of the form. McIlroy, who carded a 70, revealed his disappointment in missing McDowell’s Caribbean wedding and admitted he commissioned McDowell’s new wife Kristin to design the interior of his palatial Florida home.