Rory McIlroy knows he faces tough task staying at top after returning to number one

Rory McIlroy was denied another “euphoric moment” in becoming world number one for the first time since September 2015 and admits he faces a tough task to stay at the summit.

McIlroy and Brooks Koepka did not contest last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, but McIlroy moved above the American due to the vagaries of the two-year rolling ranking system.