MC ILROY TO MAKE WORLD TOP 10 IN 2009?

soundsham

another high finish today €52k probably secures his card already for 2010 also will move him up to approx 33-34 in world rankings

so he now plays doha,dubai and is then finished in eur for a few months
goes to us to play wgc matchplay,honda,wgc at doral,shell, masters,players us open....then back to eur for irish & british .....back to us for wgc bridgestone & pga...

seeeing that he is going to be playing in such high ranking tournaments do you think he can make it to top ten by year end?

big ask i know to do it when seeing courses for 1st time but i think he can do it.

how far do you think he can go?

madds

Top 10 is too much of an ask IMO for 2009/10 but I think the top 20 is a possibility. Here's the current Top 20 as of Jan 12th (source sportinglife.com)

1 Tiger Woods USA 11.36
2 Sergio Garcia ESP 7.88
3 Padraig H'ton IRE 6.71
4 Phil Mickelson USA 6.71
5 Vijay Singh FIJ 6.54
6 Geoff Ogilvy AUS 5.31
7 Robert Karlsson SWE 4.95
8 Camilo Villegas COL 4.75
9 Anthony Kim USA 4.74
10 Ernie Els RSA 4.61
11 Lee Westwood ENG 4.59
12 Henrik Stenson SWE 4.58
13 Jim Furyk USA 4.29
14 Kenny Perry USA 3.92
15 Steve Stricker USA 3.76
16 Stewart Cink USA 3.74
17 Choi Kyung-Ju KOR 3.71
18 Adam Scott AUS 3.71
19 Justin Rose ENG 3.40
20 Trevor Immelman RSA 3.39

I wasn't aware the Furyk had dropped down to #13. :eek:

soundsham

if he was to get 1 win he would be close to top 15,you got to give him a shot at baltray and turnberry

so any few top 10's would get him pretty close imo

fancy him to knock off a few guys in the wgc matchplay

f22

Personally I think he is capable of really great things but until I see how he performs on the big stage in the US I won't bet how far he will go in the short term.

I have no doubt he has more than one major in him in his career though.

Mister Sifter

He's showing great consistency that's for sure. Getting into the top ten in the world isn't an easy thing to do though.

He'll certainly need to win something and a win or a couple of top 5s in majors would probably be required on top of that too. I wouldn't rule that out. The lad has an unbelievable talent and all the attributes of a top, top player!

soundsham

wonder what kind of price you'd get on this
i think i'm gonna check it out if it was any value might be a nice slow burner of a bet

WaldenByThoreua

reckon he has a serious run in him for the WGC matchplay....he's liable to take out anyone in matchplay and that could give him some nice points...

weemcd

thought he was gonna win his first tournament last year when he lost the playoff to luqiain (sp?), lost alot of money that week. Ive met him before though, seemed like a sound enough guy. Id say he'll defiantly win his first tournament this year.

soundsham

"Ball-striking wise at 19, he's probably better than what Tiger was at 19. His technique I think is better. Certainly Tiger has developed his game and swing over the years and made modifications to be able to hit the ball pin-high, but Rory is already doing that and he's 19, so he's already a step ahead," said O'Meara after his opening round 77.

high praise indeed

ShriekingSheet

soundsham wrote: »

"Ball-striking wise at 19, he's probably better than what Tiger was at 19. His technique I think is better. Certainly Tiger has developed his game and swing over the years and made modifications to be able to hit the ball pin-high, but Rory is already doing that and he's 19, so he's already a step ahead," said O'Meara after his opening round 77.

Everytime I hear or read a quote from O'Meara he harps on about hitting the ball pin-high. He never shuts up about it.

PhilipMarlowe

Whilst the praise is nice, you'd hardly expect someone who has been around as long as O'Meara to say much less, particularly as he was a mere 13 shots worse than him today

soundsham

ShriekingSheet wrote: »

Everytime I hear or read a quote from O'Meara he harps on about hitting the ball pin-high. He never shuts up about it.

M-E-O-O-W!!!

soundsham

big move today

one more win or a few top 5 finishes and he'll be knockin on the door

Trampas

They reckon 15

f22

Yeah, heard them mention on Sky Sports that the win moves him to number 15 in the world.

Quite incredible really. Fantastic up and down to take the win after a shaky few holes. Don't think anyone would dispute he played the best golf all week by a long shot.

I've said it previously and am still convinced he will be a multiple winner this year.

Well done McIlroy!

Myksyk

Terrific win. Can you imagine what the pressure was like for him? Every ball he's ever hit in his life was to bring him to this point. It must be almost overwhelming to be so close and see yourself beginning to stumble. Really impressed with his sand save to win.

irishtoffee

Delighted for the lad,well done.

f22

Just checked the official rankings, he's 16th now. Result.

soundsham

soundsham wrote: »

wonder what kind of price you'd get on this
i think i'm gonna check it out if it was any value might be a nice slow burner of a bet

to make the top 10 this year
good idea BRAINS on 18th jan.......do you think i looked into it as a bet not a prayer:(

some up and down for the win though

Eireannach

Big future for this young lad. After losing 2 playoffs, finally getting over the hump and grabbing this victory was crucial. I see some majors in his future, hopefully he'll get his first before Sergio!

bigeasy

soundsham wrote: »

to make the top 10 this year
good idea BRAINS on 18th jan.......do you think i looked into it as a bet not a prayer:(

some up and down for the win though

He was 33/1 to be in the top ten on the 31 of december looks like a nice bet now.. 20 euro

soundsham

soundsham wrote: »

another high finish today €52k probably secures his card already for 2010 also will move him up to approx 33-34 in world rankings

so he now plays doha,dubai and is then finished in eur for a few months
goes to us to play wgc matchplay,honda,wgc at doral,shell, masters,players us open....then back to eur for irish & british .....back to us for wgc bridgestone & pga...

seeeing that he is going to be playing in such high ranking tournaments do you think he can make it to top ten by year end?

big ask i know to do it when seeing courses for 1st time but i think he can do it.

how far do you think he can go?

could be answered this weekend;)

ShriekingSheet

I have to say soundsham, fair play to you. I scoffed when you posted this a while back. But I think it would take a brave man to bet against him getting in the top 10 now. Good call.

conno16

european golf looks very promising with the likes of rory, rose, casey etc stepping up on a continuous.
i'm not sure the ryder cup has a future if the europeans keep growing in strength
perhaps the european team may need to be divided up in a west/east divide or more likely a north/south divide?
just a thought

ShriekingSheet

conno16 wrote: »

european golf looks very promising with the likes of rory, rose, casey etc stepping up on a continuous.
i'm not sure the ryder cup has a future if the europeans keep growing in strength
perhaps the european team may need to be divided up in a west/east divide or more likely a north/south divide?
just a thought

You include Paul Casey and Justin Rose in that, and not Harrington?

I think you're getting ahead of yourself as regards the European team getting so strong that it would ruin the Ryder Cup.

clg23

conno16 wrote: »

european golf looks very promising with the likes of rory, rose, casey etc stepping up on a continuous.
i'm not sure the ryder cup has a future if the europeans keep growing in strength
perhaps the european team may need to be divided up in a west/east divide or more likely a north/south divide?
just a thought

Ha, if we had won in Valhalla i might agree but we lost by 5!

conno16

my focus is on the future here folks
rose, casey, rory mac etc are maturing into world-beaters
these are the guys that will hopefully be banging on tigers cage before long

harro, monty, westie etc have all had their best days by now
sure they'll still compete and win on an intermittent basis but i'm looking for someone to emerge that will equal the past heros such as faldo, lyle, o'connor snr, seve etc

ManFromAtlantis

conno16 wrote: »

my focus is on the future here folks
rose, casey, rory mac etc are maturing into world-beaters
these are the guys that will hopefully be banging on tigers cage before long

harro, monty, westie etc have all had their best days by now
sure they'll still compete and win on an intermittent basis but i'm looking for someone to emerge that will equal the past heros such as faldo, lyle, o'connor snr, seve etc

agree, rory mc / rose decent prospects. rory mc seems to have that something special that harry doesnt have .
ps am i the only one in the world that does not rate the ryder cup competion at all. a two man competition, big deal who wins . the talent/awe factor is watered down when not individual play involved.
bet ya tiger couldnt give a craap but he cant say anything cos he would insult the corporate world.

thegen

Arent we all great at knocking our own. There is Harrington after winning two majors and he is past his best and Rory has that something special. Lads lets keep talking our sporting heroes up and not down

ManFromAtlantis

thegen wrote: »

Arent we all great at knocking our own. There is Harrington after winning two majors and he is past his best and Rory has that something special. Lads lets keep talking our sporting heroes up and not down

no i'd be delighted if harry won more majors. its just i think mc ilroy will be the special one. i find it a bit cringey when har talks / sorry over analyses his game. he must be warped with over psycho analysis. i know u'll say it worked but i find it cringe tv.

thegen

I agree he tends to over analyse things, was not getting at you in particular more the previous poster. You said it works, hes our greatest golfer bar none and I hope Rory goes on to better him. Rose and Caey have really proved nothing, we have better in europe in Karlson, Stenson, Garcia. Rose is going the wrong way in world rankings. Casey is at 22 not sure what his high was.

But overall Euopean golf is on a good footing. Would not get carried away though. Remember we got well beaten last time out with most of these playesrs involved. Butch Harmon was well impressed with Rory and was tipping him as the man to come out of the pack and win this weekend after his victory over Mahan.

Sorry for the rambling on.

thegen

Anyway getting back to the title of the thread. Rory will def be top ten this year. His attitude is superb.

I was at the back of the 18th on the Sat of the Portugal masters after he had taken double bogey. Instead of doing what most pros do and throw his putter to the ground for his caddy to pick up he walked to his caddy, handed him the putter shook his hand anf thanked him.

Touch of class about this kid.

clg23

I would appreciate if people would not mention McIlroy and w*nning the matchplay for a few days. I have a tenner at 50/1 and your going to jinx it....

Mister Sifter

thegen wrote: »

I agree he tends to over analyse things, was not getting at you in particular more the previous poster. You said it works, hes our greatest golfer bar none and I hope Rory goes on to better him. Rose and Caey have really proved nothing, we have better in europe in Karlson, Stenson, Garcia. Rose is going the wrong way in world rankings. Casey is at 22 not sure what his high was.

I agree about Rose, but Casey has already won this year and is playing very well this weekend. I think he's finding his feet once more. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he contended strongly for a major this year.

Would like to see it too as he seems like a genuinely hardworking, nice guy.

Wouldn't be surprised to see a British winner this weekend... i fancy Poulter to do well and if McIlroy can get through tonight then he's got to be a strong contender.

eirebhoy

Quarter finals for him now...

uberwolf

today's times
5th if he wins this weekend!

WGC ACCENTURE WORLD MATCHPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP: TIGER WOODS must be breathing a sigh of relief as the world watched the birth of a new superstar in Rory McIlroy.


Playing with the poise and precision of a man twice his age, the 19- year-old must surely have ended any debate over his elevated stature in the game when he crushed South Africa’s Tim Clark 4 and 3 to reach the quarter-finals of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Tucson.

The Ulster kid calculated before making the trip that he would go to fifth in the world with victory this week. But he may not be aware that he would also become the youngest winner in the history of American professional golf.

Who needs Tiger when you have a player of such natural talent to enjoy? Clark provoked a mass exodus from the press centre by the American media when he ended Woods’ comeback story with an emphatic 4 and 2 win over the world number one in Thursday’s second round.

But the 33-year-old South African had no answer against a fearless teenage opponent who blasted the ball up to 60 yards past him off the tee.

Clark didn’t make a bogey in the first two rounds as he despatched Retief Goosen and Woods with some faultless golf. But he was struggling straight away against a sensational McIlroy, who won the first with a par four when the South African was forced to chip back to the fairway after pushing his drive into the desert scrub.

The teenager’s power was a major weapon on the 7,800 yard Jack Nicklaus course and he easily topped the driving distance statistics with an average drive of 319 yards giving him a huge advantage over pint-sized Clark.

The Holywood kid reduced the 574-yard, par-five second to a 369-yard drive and a nine iron to go two up with a simple, two-putt birdie. And after halves in par at the third and fourth, he out-drove the South African by 60 yards at the fifth and then hit his approach to seven feet to extend his advantage to three holes.

Moments later he was four up, courtesy of a glorious iron shot to 14 feet at the 185 yard sixth and while Clark hit back to win the seventh with a tap-in birdie from two and a half feet, he was soon four down again.

At the par-five eighth, Clark bunkered his approach short of the green and couldn’t match McIlroy’s chip and putt birdie from the apron.

The next four holes were halved in par figures and while McIlroy hit a 371-yard drive at the par-five 13th, Clark matched his birdie by finding the green with a 258-yard fairway bunker shot to 17 feet.

Clark looked certain to win the 14th when he hit his approach to just five feet but his broomstick putter let him down and he went four down with just four to play.

It all ended at the driveable 15th, where McIlroy missed a 15 footer for the match and looked on as Clark failed to hole from just inside him to survive for another hole.

“It was nice to build an early lead,” said McIlory. “Tim obviously didn’t play as well as he did against Tiger (Woods).

“It was a fairly simple match for me after that start. My ball-striking and distance control has been excellent the last couple of days, though I have left a couple of putts out there.

“This week has just been great getting to compete against the best players in the world. They are all tough matches no matter who you play, I’m just excited to have reached the quarter-finals in my first Match Play tournament.”

McIlroy will face world number eight and 2006 champion Geoff Ogilvy of Australia today with the winner of that one taking on Ernie Els or Stewart Cink in the afternoon semi-finals.

“Geoff Ogilvy is a class player but I think I can win this tournament,” said McIlroy. “You’ve got to believe you can win. I don’t know if that’s cocky but that’s the mindset you’ve got to go out with. You’ve got to say I am going to beat this guy.”

As for Els tipping him to become the next world number one, McIlroy added: “Coming from an ex number one, it’s great. But I still have a long way to go. And my main goal is to try and get into the top 10 in the world and then if I can do that, Ill try and get to number two and then Tiger comes back fit and strong.”

Els beat Luke Donald by two holes after the English star tweaked his wrist on the 17th tee and conceded the match on the 18th tee while Cink accounted for a wayward Mickelson by one hole.

After missing six months of last season following wrist surgery, Donald was one down playing the 18th but conceded after straining his wrist hitting his drive at the 17th he decided not to risk further injury.

“Maybe I am being ultra-cautious. But I will have it checked out and hopefully it is just a minor strain,” Donald said.

Mickelson was always in trouble against Cink after falling three down after four holes. The left hander levelled matters by the 13th but lost the 15th after driving into scrub on the left, drew level with winning par at the 16th, lost the 17th to a bogey five and then failed to rescue matters at the last.

THIRD ROUND

Rory McIlroy (Ire) bt Tim Clark (SA) 4 and 3

Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) v Camillo Villegas (Col)2 and 1

Ian Poulter (Eng) v Sean O’Hair (US)2dn (16)

Peter Hanson (Swe) lost to Paul Casey (Eng)3 and 2

Luke Donald (Eng) conceded to Ernie Els (SA)retired injured

Phil Mickelson (US) lost to Stewart Cink (US) 1 hole

Ross Fisher (Eng) bt Jim Furyk (US)4 and 3

Justin Leonard (US) v Oliver Wilson (Eng)all square (18)

Aidric

McIlroy has been very impressive in the WGC so far. His stock has to be on a major rise in the states after this.

soundsham

anyone know where he moves to in rankings

ty,

PhilipMarlowe

I'd guess that he will move up 1 place or maybe 2 from 17th?

WHIP IT!

Licksy wrote: »

I'd guess that he will move up 1 place or maybe 2 from 17th?

At least, I would've thought?

Mister Sifter

I think Licksy is right, he'll only move up one place or so. Not 100% sure how the points work for it, but he's likely to get between 12 and 18, according to the euro tour site. That would take him above Rose, but he'd still be short of Furyk who also did ok this week.

But then Casey is going to jump above him so he'll probably stay 17th. That's me doing simple maths to come to that conclusion... no doubt there is more to the whole points process than that.

durkadurka

He'll get to at least 15, but has a very good chance of getting to 14 maybe 13. Very complicated and would take hours to calculate properly. Casey will get ahead of him even if he loses tonight.

Still it would put him ahead of Ernie Els(I think) and Jim Furyk. Amazing to think of him ahead of those 2 world class players, multi major winners etc. Yeah they're probably a bit past it but they're still top players.

In terms of the top 10, he only needs one more performance like this week (say a top 5 in the US) and he's there. It seems to be inevitable at this stage.

Extraordinary stuff.

PhilipMarlowe

He moved up 1 place from 17 to 16 now.
http://www.officialworldgolfranking.com/rankings/default.sps