McIlroy aims to maintain sky-high position in 2015

McIlroy revealed he jotted down seven ambitions for the year ahead during a flight from Dublin to Dubai earlier this month.

THE back of an airline boarding pass holds Rory McIlroy’s goals for the 2015 season.

McIlroy, in an interesting revelation ahead of his eighth season in the professional ranks, revealed he jotted down seven ambitions for the year ahead during a flight from Dublin to Dubai earlier this month.

Having memorised those goals, McIlroy placed the boarding pass in his wallet where it will remain unopened until the end of the campaign.

It is a habit which has served the world number one well, though the seating arrangement has changed somewhat with the passage of time. McIlroy recalled writing his first list when sitting in economy class during his early days on tour. The latest was crafted from Seat 1A onboard an Emirates Boeing 777 on January 5.

“Every year, I’m flying to Dubai for a week’s prep work of 10 days, I write down my goals on the back of my boarding pass, and I put the pass in my wallet and I memorise them,” he said.

“But then I don’t look at them until the end of the year.

“I don’t share my goals with anyone else. They are just little goals, and I’ll try to achieve those. I’ll take that boarding pass out at the end of the year and see how I’ve done.”

Last year, McIlroy captured two Majors, a first WGC title, as well as winning the European Tour’s flagship event, but met just four of his seven 2014 goals.

“I wanted to have six worldwide wins last year, but I only had four,” he said. “But still it was a good year.

“I’ve been doing this since the start of my career. Once I don’t need the boarding pass, they are discarded.

“It’s funny, the seat numbers have gradually gotten less and less. First it was seat 13B, then 12A, so it’s been nice to move forward up the flights each year.

“However, I haven’t had a boarding pass yet where I have managed to tick off all my goals. But then, the way my career is progressing, maybe one day I won’t need a boarding pass, as that’s the ultimate.”

McIlroy, 25, will play Abu Dhabi and then Dubai two weeks later, before flying to the US for Palm Beach’s Honda Classic and Miami’s World Golf Championships in February and March.

“Then (I’ll) see what my schedule is leading up to the Masters,” said McIlroy.

He has yet to decide on the Houston Open, a week before Augusta starts on April 9.

“It really depends how I feel. If I feel I need more golf, I’ll play. If not, I’ll probably take it off,” said McIlroy, who will cut his playing schedule to 21-22 tournaments this year and took almost a month off before beginning his preparations for 2015 on Jan 5.

“I’ve got a good routine and mental strategy going into Majors now, where I try not to let too much affect me. I go into my own little world for those couple of weeks.”

Then, McIlroy was brought back to earth when quizzed about his Dublin High Court appearance early next month, when he’s staring at the possibility of a week in the witness box over the dispute with a former management company.

However, he said the case will not have a detrimental impact on his golf.

“No, it’s not a distraction at all,” he declared. “I’ve literally not thought about it since whenever I last had to talk to someone about it. I just go with what the lawyers say and they tell me to just sit tight and not talk too much about it. It’s no big deal. I’ll be okay at the end of the day.”