Rory McIlroy: You can’t beat that winning feeling

Rory McIlroy feels a first win since September 2016 is “not far away” as he prepares to make his competitive comeback in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

McIlroy has a remarkable record in Abu Dhabi with four second place finishes, two thirds, and a fifth in his last eight starts, but missed last year’s event with the rib injury which disrupted his entire season.

The four-time major winner called an early end to his winless campaign, just the second of his professional career, in October, but has been practising hard over the winter, despite revealing that he has an irregular heartbeat.