“As good as I have been ever” - Rory McIlroy embraces World No. 1 title ahead of 2023 WM Phoenix Open

Rory McIlroy became World No. 1 in October last year. The Irish golfer won the CJ Cup in South Carolina and dethroned Scottie Scheffler to the top rank. Following this, McIlroy went on to win multiple events, including the most recent Dubai Desert Classic to maintain the world rankings.

Heading into the 2023 WM Phoenix Open, the golfer’s top rank is under threat from second-place Scheffler and in-form World No.3 Jon Rahm. However, McIlroy seems to have found his comfort on top. Ahead of the event, the Irishman has now revealed that he feels like the best player on the field. In fact, the PGA Tour star stated that he’s been playing “as good as ever” in his career.

McIlroy was responding to media questions at a pre-event press conference in TPC Scottsdale when he said that he feels like the biggest man on campus this week. Admitting to the query if he felt on top of his game, the four-time major winner said:

“Yes… Because I do. I’m playing well. I feel like consistency-wise; I’ve been as good as I have been ever in my career. I feel like I’m just in a really good place with my game and really have a lot of continuity in it and a lot of consistency.”

The 2022 FedEx Cup champion went on to add that he never felt as complete as a player before.

McIlroy said:

“If you just look at my statistical categories, there’s no real glaring weaknesses there. I’ve worked really hard on that, to try to become a more well-rounded player. I think the results speak for themselves, as well, over not just the past six months but really the past 18 months post-Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, I feel like I’ve been on a really good run of form since then.”

It is pertinent to note that Rory McIlroy has been on a roll lately. The golfer marked multiple wins on the DP World Tour, including the Dubai Desert Classic in January. The golfer edged out Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler on multiple occasions and is looking to defend his ranking at this week’s WM Phoenix Open as well.

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Rory McIlroy excited for the WM Phoenix Open

Rory McIlroy is competing at TPC Scottsdale for just the second time in his career. Prior to this, the golfer competed and finished T-13 in the event in 2021.

Speaking about this week’s WM Phoenix Open, the ace golfer said:

“I haven’t had the full experience of this event yet. I’m looking forward to it this week in some ways, but it’s going to be an experience… I think when we started talking about trying to elevate or designate some events, I think this was one of the first ones on the list, just because it’s such a fan favorite, and players like it, players love the atmosphere. It was already a huge event but made even bigger.”

It is pertinent to note that the WM Phoenix Open is the first full-field designated event of the year. The event will feature 134 contestants competing for a $20 million prize purse and some valuable Official World Golf Ranking points.