Feb 20, 2020: Rory McIlroy is hoping to convert his impressive recent form into a second successive World Golf Championships victory at the WGC-Mexico Championship, where Jon Rahm is aiming to depose the Northern Irishman at the top of Official World Golf Ranking.
McIlroy claimed his third World Golf Championships title at the WGC-HSBC Champions last November and has picked up three consecutive top five finishes since – a purple patch which helped him overtake Brooks Koepka to return to the World Number One spot for the first time since 2015.
“It’s good to be back in Mexico. I’ve played well here the last couple of times I’ve played. DJ (Dustin Johnson) was just sort of too good for all of us last year – I played in the final group with him – but it’s good to be back.
“I feel like this tournament has gone from strength to strength the last few years, and I obviously would love to add it to the list of winners here”, said McIlroy.
This week, he tied Nick Faldo in third place on the list of players with most cumulative weeks at the top of the World Rankings on 97 and another week would move him to outright third position, behind only Tiger Woods (683) and Greg Norman (331).
Rahm, however, could move to the top spot for the first time in his career. The Spaniard – who received the Seve Ballesteros Award as the 2019 European Tour Players’ Player of the Year ahead of the opening day of the WGC-Mexico Championship – would need a win if he is to have any chance of doing so this week.
“It’s always nice to come to a country where they speak Spanish. The culture is a lot more similar to what it is in Spain. There’s good food, good hospitality and a good golf course. It doesn’t really get much better than this.
“My perspective hasn’t changed at all this week, honestly. I’m here to win a tournament. That’s what I’m here to do.
European Tour Release
