Published Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Rory McIlroy is Arizona for the WGC match play championship. (© Getty)
There is a lot of golf to be played in the next five days and his first round opponent, George Coetzee from South Africa, will require Rory to play well.
Coetzee is a young golfer who has been tipped to breakthrough for some time, but this is his first tour appearance in the US so the general expectation would be a win for McIlroy, who is the second seed for the tournament.
Only the top 64 players on the rankings list qualify for the tournament which is being held at Dove Mountain in the Arizona desert in America.
Luke Donald, the Englishman who tops the rankings list, face Ernie Els in the first round.
Donald's grip on the top spot could slip if either McIlroy or Lee Westwood win, and Donald fails to get past the third round.
The format of the tournament, 18 hole match play, means any early lapse of concentration can be fatal.
Speaking on Tuesday at a press conference, Rory McIlroy said: "I always look forward to this event but I definitely prefer to play matchplay over 36 holes.
"In 18 holes of golf anything can happen, you can be five or six under par and lose or you can play mediocre and win.
"I don't mind losing a match if you don't play well ... but when you feel like you have done all you can and still come up on the wrong side, it's pretty tough to take.
"That's the nature of this format, and that's why everyone enjoys watching it," said McIlroy.
Portrush's Graeme McDowell will play Y.E. Yang of South Korea in the first round.
Yang is a solid golfer and won the Honda Classic in 2009 on the PGA Tour so is worthy of respect - but McDowell has what might be described as intestinal fortitude when it comes to match play - not least when he made the winning putt in the 2010 Ryder Cup.
Darren Clarke will play Nick Watney in the first round.
If the reigning Open champion manages to get through the first round, he will play the winner of Tiger Woods versus Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.
If Tiger Woods beats the Spaniard and Clarke beats Watney then it would be a mouth watering repeat of the final of this tournament from 2000 when the Northern Irish golfer beat the American 4&3 in the final.