McIlroy confident ahead of US debut

Rory McIlroy declared himself in confident mood ahead of his first tournament as a professional in the United States.

The teenager from the North, who shot to number 16 in the Official World Golf Rankings following his maiden pro victory in the European Tour’s Dubai Desert Classic at the beginning of this month, takes his first steps Stateside tomorrow at the World Golf Championships Accenture Match Play Championship at the new Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain near Tucson, Arizona.

McIlroy broke into the world top 50 at the end of November and began 2009 with three top 10 finishes in his first five starts before prevailing in Dubai.

That has secured the 19-year-old some prestigious invitations to American tournaments, including the WGC-CA Championship at Doral and the Masters at Augusta National in addition to this week’s WGC-Accenture.

“Obviously I’m coming in here with quite a good bit of form. It’s great to be over here and nice to able to play a schedule that consists of World Golf Championships and Majors.

“So it’s been great.

“It was great to get the first win. It’s nice to get it out of the way and try and concentrate on getting a few more.”

McIlroy plays South Africa’s world number 49 Louis Oosthuizen in tomorrow’s first round matches at Dove Mountain, teeing off at 5.46pm UK time.