Dubai: He has been touted as the most exciting prospect in men's golf today with world No 1 Luke Donald even going so far as to pronounce him more talented than Tiger Woods! But 22-year-old Rory McIlroy has his feet firmly on the ground despite becoming one of the youngest Major winners at the US Open last year.
And in an exclusive interview to XPRESS ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship next week, the Northern Irishman puts a controversy to rest and opens up about his love affair with the region. "In many ways Dubai is my home away from home!" the 2009 Omega Dubai Desert Classic champion began when asked about his regular visits to the region, where he spent a lot of time with his girlfriend and world No 1 tennis star Caroline Wozniacki.
"I am a big fan of the Middle East in general - especially Dubai where my sponsors Jumeirah are based. Obviously they have excellent hotels, the climate is perfect and practice facilities are excellent. I holiday and have many practice weeks in Dubai, and with Abu Dhabi just a short drive away, it's the perfect set-up.
"Abu Dhabi is a great place to visit as the weather in January is just about perfect for golf. This tournament has become a really big event so I am looking forward to starting off my year there. The field in Abu Dhabi is very strong and it's a perfect starting point for my 2012 season," he added.
Conversation inevitably turned to the controversy over Donald's remarks, but McIlroy has no illusions about where he stands.
"It was a really nice thing for Luke to say about me but it's one thing to have talent and it's another to actually have the capability of turning that talent into something productive. I think what Luke was saying is that golf comes as easy to me as it does for Tiger. I'll never know, but Tiger has won 14 majors and that's definitely more of a talent than my one!
"There's different types of talent. Luke himself, for example, played some incredible short game shots when I played with him during the opening round of the Dubai World Championship last December. He's definitely got more talent than me around the greens. And I think what he said about me and Tiger was maybe taken a little bit out of context, so I certainly took it lightly!" he said.
The current world No 3 also defended Donald over criticism about him being the number one without a Major.
"Week in week out Luke has consistently played better golf and to win both money lists is a huge achievement. People outside of golf just look at wins and they think that wins are the be-all and end-all. But the amount of top 5s and Top 10s that Luke has posted are just as impressive as some of the wins.
"I am sure Luke would like to win a Major, just in the same way as I would like to be world number one and achieve the high level of consistency Luke has delivered to be at the pinnacle he is at right now," he said.
And for good measure McIlroy is thankful for having won one so early in his career.
"I felt like Augusta last year was a great opportunity to get my first Major and it obviously didn't quite work out. But to come back straightaway at the US Open, straight after and to win, that was nice. To get a Major out of the way so early in my career, well at least now I know I can always call myself a Major champion. And, hopefully, in the not so distant future I'll be able to call myself a multiple Major champion.
"Having said that, I think there are many different ways to measure a player's career - from world ranking to Majors and from Ryder Cup appearances to Order of Merits - all of them are great achievements."
McIlroy also said he's looking forward to the PGA Tour this year.
"I love playing in America and find the weather and course set-ups generally suit my game. I am looking forward to playing on both the PGA Tour and European Tour this year.
"By taking up membership on both the PGA and European tours this year, I get to play in the best tournaments all over the world, and that is all I want to do - play in the best against the best," he said.
