McIlroy in no rush to crack America

Rory McIlroy has said that he is concentrating on Europe rather than America because he wants to avoid burn-out.

The 20-year-old’s rise up the world rankings this year entitled him to US Tour membership, but he has pledged his immediate future to his home circuit.

“I don’t want to play 30 events a year and get burn-out,” said McIlroy on the eve of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

“I had not planned on having a PGA Tour card for two or three years, so it was an easy decision to make in that respect.

“I’m very happy in Europe. I’ll play the Majors and the World Golf Championships and I think the way my schedule has worked out is perfect.”

The Dubai Desert Open champion missed the halfway cut on his PGA debut last year after rounds of 74 and 77, but his hopes are much higher this time.

His earliest memories of the West Course are of being brought by his parents to watch the World Match Play.

McIlroy finished well down the field in last week’s Irish Open and missed the cut in the Players Championship in Florida before that, but he added: “Golf’s a very fickle game. You can come in and out of form very quickly.”

Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez defends the title, but he has been having treatment for a shoulder problem that has been bothering him for months.

The Malaga golfer won the title at 44 in his 20th season on the European Tour. His first event was six years before McIlroy was born.