Rory Relishes Willett Master Battle

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Rory McIlroy is relishing another battle against Danny Willett after the Race to Dubai champion and the Masters Tournament champion stole the show on day one of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation.

Willett pushed McIlroy all the way to the final day of last season before the Northern Irishman finished as Europe's Number One for the second consecutive year with his victory at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.

In 2016 it has been the Englishman who has stolen a march, with a first Major Championship victory at Augusta added to his win at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic to give Willett a lead over McIlroy of over a million points in the season-long battle.

The 28 year old also took the upper hand on Thursday, establishing a two-shot lead over McIlroy at the K Club, and the four-time Major winner is hopeful the two can continue to duel it out over the weekend.

"It's a great day one," said McIlroy. "Hopefully it entices people to come out and watch the golf over the next three days.

Having Danny here is a huge help, and him playing like he did today, and me playing like I did, it would be great if we could have a battle over the weekend and get the crowds to flock in - Rory McIlroy

"It would be one that I'd be looking forward to."

A victory for McIlroy would be his first at his home Open after missing the cut the last three seasons, and he admits he is excited by the thought of getting his hands on the trophy.

"I just get goosebumps thinking about it, so I can't really think about it too much now," he added.

"To win here, no matter what the circumstances are, whether I've won the week before or whether I haven't won in six months, to win The Irish Open would be something that would be very special, and I've got off to a great start towards doing that this week. I just have to keep playing the way I did today.

"It's a big thing, especially with how I've played here the last few years, it's been very disappointing.

"It's day one. There's a lot of golf to play but it's a very encouraging start.

"I think there was more out there. I thought it was a very comfortable 67. Get to go five under par after 13 with a couple of par fives to come in, had a bit of a blip on 14 with a three-putt. But apart from that, I felt like I played pretty well.

"It was nice to get an opening round like that and get a score like that under my belt, because I know what's out there now. I know if I go out and play well and the conditions are similar that I can go even better than that."

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McIlroy's Moving Sunday

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Rory McIlroy was left to reflect on what might have been after producing a storming finish to the 115th US Open at Chambers Bay.

McIlroy began the final day eight shots off the lead, but he carved his way through the field as he finally managed to convert the birdie chances that had gone begging over the first 54 holes.

The world No 1 got going with a 20-foot putt for birdie at the second, but he really heated up around the turn as he backed up his sublime long-game with a much-improved performance on the greens.

McIlroy picked up four birdies in six hole before sending the galleries wild with a thrilling 50-foot curling putt for another gain at the 13th, lifting him to six under on the day and two under for the tournament.

But he missed another opportunity from eight feet at the next which took the wind out of his sails, and he failed to get up and down at the 15th after his tee shot rolled off the left-front portion of the green.

The 2011 champion then missed from three feet for par at 17, and a closing five capped a valiant 66 which saw him finish on level par for the week.

"I really thought after holing a long putt on 13, with 16 and 18 coming in, if I could birdie those two holes and get to four under par I had a great chance with the way the greens are getting out there," McIlroy said. "It would have been a number for the guys to really think about.

"When I look back, the last few holes have not been kind to me this week and that's where I will rue some missed opportunities. I feel like it's one that got away. I feel like I've never hit the ball as well in a major championship."

The performance was a solid comeback from back-to-back missed cuts at the BMW PGA Championship and the Irish Open, and he can now look forward to the remainder of the season with confidence restored.

"Of course I take a lot of positives out of this," he added. "The long game is really in good shape. I was really dialled in all week and confident with that. And if I can just get the putting a little bit better and roll a few more in and get a little bit of confidence with that going, I see nothing but positive signs for the next few months."

McIlroy will now have a week off before teeing up in the Scottish Open at Gullane, and he will defend his Open Championship crown at St Andrews the following week.

"I'll go probably to St Andrews the weekend before the Scottish Open or even the Monday, Tuesday of the Scottish Open and play a couple of practice rounds," he said.

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