Loss of top spot will spur on Rory McIlroy at US PGA, says Nick Dougherty

Four wins in 2019 and a top-three finish in his first event of 2020 saw McIlroy back to world number one for the first time since September 2015

The last of McIlroy’s four major titles to date came in the 2014 US PGA at Valhalla.

Nick Dougherty believes Rory McIlroy will be motivated by the loss of his world number one ranking as he bids to win a first major title in six years in the US PGA Championship in San Francisco.

The last of McIlroy’s four major titles to date came in the 2014 US PGA at Valhalla, since when he has recorded 10 top-10 finishes in the game’s four biggest events without success.