• PGA Tour

Being No. 1 a dream come true - McIlroy

ESPN staff
March 5, 2012
Rory McIlroy: I still need to improve

Rory McIlory fulfilled a life-long dream of becoming world No. 1 following his victory at the Honda Classic in Florida.

The Northern Irishman shot a 69 to hold off a late charge from Tiger Woods in the final round to depose Luke Donald at the top of golf's world rankings. McIlroy, the 2011 US Open winner, says the tournament win ranks amongst his greatest achievements since turning professional in 2007.

"Every win is very special," said McIlroy. "I felt like the win at the end of last year at Hong Kong meant a lot to me, just because I had come close there before and it's a place that I love.

"But this one, with what could happen after today, with being able to go to the top of the world rankings, it meant a lot to go out there and produce the golf that I needed to do to get the job done. It was always a dream of mine to become the world No. 1 and the best player in the world.

"I didn't know that I would be able to get here this quickly - this is my fifth full year on Tour. It's not like it's just been right away. It's taken a little bit of time, but you know, it's fantastic to be here at the minute and hopefully I can hold onto it for a little longer."

McIlroy now has his sights set on the first major of the year at the Masters in April. The 22-year-old believes making amends for his meltdown at Augusta in 2011 would be more satisfying than reaching the pinnacle of golf's rankings.

"There's been a few guys at No. 1 without a major, so [it would] probably be harder to win a major," McIlroy said.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices