McIlroy on cusp of dream treble

young northern irishman is preparing to storm desert in bid to make golfing history

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Just three years ago, Rory McIlroy was sitting at home watching golf on television, dreaming about being a professional player.

The young Northern Ireland star’s rise has been meteoric and on Sunday he could be crowned Europe’s new number one. If it happens the 20-year-old will be the youngest player to achieve it since Seve Ballesteros in 1976. McIlroy could also become the world number six – and more than £1.6million richer.

As he prepares for today’s opening round in the Dubai World Championship, McIlroy said: “I’m living out my dream and I couldn’t be happier.”

The first prize of more than £744,000 would also earn him an Order of Merit bonus of just under £900,000.

He added: “To be sitting here now 13th in the world, leading the Race to Dubai, I’m just really enjoying it.

“This is what I’ve always wanted to do. If I can play the rest of my career happy and realising how lucky I am to be playing a great game like this for a living then I think I’ll be doing all right.”

Taking the tournament title is obviously the dream way of clinching the moneylist title but, because of his consistency this season, McIlroy could stay top of the table even if he finished last of the 58 players taking part.

England’s Lee Westwood is £114,000 behind and cannot afford to finish worse than seventh if he is to recapture the Order of Merit the crown he won in 2000. German Martin Kaymer is a further £70,000 back and needs to make the top four, while England’s Ross Fisher, the only other player left in the race, has a £388,000 deficit and has to be first or second.

The money on offer is so huge – even with the 25% cut because of the economic downturn in the region – that McIlroy, Westwood and Kaymer all know victory on the Greg Norman-designed Earth course will guarantee them top spot.

Norman was on site yesterday to see how things are developing on what is the second-longest layout in European Tour history and on what, it has to be said, still bears some resemblance to a building site.

Speaking of McIlroy, whose rapid progress after turning professional a mere 26 months ago has prompted him to take up US Tour membership next season, Norman said: “What Rory has been doing over the last 12 months is phenomenal to say the least.

“He looks like he’s way experienced beyond his years and his future, you can almost say, is cast in stone in a lot of ways.”

Australia’s Norman was 27 when he topped the Order of Merit in 1982. Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie was 30 when he took it for the first of his record eight times. Ernie Els was 34, Padraig Harrington 35 and last year Robert Karlsson was 39.

Just to underline what McIlroy is now on the cusp of achieving, Tony Jacklin never won the moneylist and Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia have never done it either.

McIlroy, eager to add to what remains his one and only professional victory so far – the Dubai Desert Classic – predicts a winning score of mid-teens, maybe 14 or 15 under par.

World Match-Play champion Fisher, whose 29th birthday on Sunday could be really special, raised his eyebrows at that.

Fisher said: “I’d love mid-teens.

“I think if you can break 70 every day (four 69s would be 12 under) you’d have a pretty decent score.”