McIlroy: I haven’t hit the ball so well in a long time

Rory McIlroy might have won a major in his sensational five-win season in 2012 but he reckons he can do even better than that and the WGC-Accenture Match Play is as good a place as any to kickstart 2014 with a win.

The world No 7 takes on American Boo Weekley in today’s first round at Dove Mountain knowing that anything can happen in an 18-hole matchplay sprint.

But having finished third in Abu Dhabi and ninth in Dubai in his first two starts of the season, he’s hoping that some concentrated work on his putting with coach Dave Stockton in Tucson this week will be the key to getting a win under his belt before the Masters.