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Rory wants Woods in singles at Medinah

Rory McIlroy is keen to face Tiger Woods at the Ryder Cup © PA Photos

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The Ryder Cup gets underway at Medinah Country Club on September 28. ESPN will have extensive coverage of the event - including interactive text commentary, reports and reaction - for all three days.

World No. 1 Rory McIlroy is eager to take on Tiger Woods in the singles at the forthcoming Ryder Cup - hinting that he might try to pull some strings to make sure the heavyweight contest happens.

The prospect of a Sunday showdown between McIlroy, the in-form golfer of the moment, and Woods, perhaps the greatest to ever play the game, has inspired growing speculation and frenzied discussion ever since both players were confirmed for their respective teams, with United States captain Davis Love III acknowledging it would be a meeting for the ages.

And McIlroy has now hinted he might ask European captain Jose Maria Olazabal to help ensure both players go head-to-head at the business end of matters at Medinah Country Club.

"It would be great fun to be part of," McIlroy told the Times, in a wide-ranging interview. "The atmosphere would be absolutely incredible. I might say to Tiger, 'I'll have a word with Jose, you have a word with Davis - and I'll see you on the first tee'."

McIlroy will be making his second appearance in the team event, having been a fresh-faced rookie at Celtic Manor two years ago. This time around, however, the two-time major champion is expecting to be heavily involved in the locker room.

"I think there will be an expectation on me to be one of the leaders," he said. "It's strange to say because there are so many guys in the team who have done so much in their careers, but being No. 1 in the world and with what I've done these last couple of years, I am expecting to go in with more of a leadership role.

"My voice being heard in the team room, making suggestions, being confident to say, 'Listen guys, here's what I think we should do'.

"I was a rookie last time and I sat quietly waiting for everybody else to say something. I hope to lead by example, maybe go out in the first game of the day, set the tone."

In the world rankings, Italian Open champion Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano climbed eight places to 37th as a result of his victory.

World Rankings: 1. Rory McIlroy (NIR), 2. Tiger Woods (USA), 3. Luke Donald (ENG), 4. Lee Westwood (ENG), 5. Adam Scott (AUS), 6. Jason Dufner (USA), 7. Bubba Watson (USA), 8. Webb Simpson (USA), 9. Justin Rose (ENG), 10. Steve Stricker (USA), 11. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA), 12. Dustin Johnson (USA), 13. Keegan Bradley (USA), 14. Matt Kuchar (USA), 15. Phil Mickelson (USA), 16. Zach Johnson (USA), 17. Graeme McDowell (NIR), 18. Brandt Snedeker (USA), 19. Sergio Garcia (ESP), 20. Hunter Mahan (USA).

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