Leaderboard fear factor is definite plus for Rory McIlroy
World number one Rory McIlroy believes there is something of a fear factor when rival golfers see his name on a leaderboard these days.
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Virginia Water: World number one Rory McIlroy believes there is something of a fear factor when rival golfers see his name on a leaderboard these days.
"I feel like my name now carries a certain weight on the leaderboard," McIlroy told a news conference on the eve of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
"I don`t know if you call that intimidation but I feel when players see my name on the leaderboard now it might mean a little bit more than it used to."
However, even the world`s greatest golfers lose far more times than they win and McIlroy is no different.
"I don`t feel I`m unbeatable that`s for sure," he said. "Golf is a very fickle game and it can humble you quite quickly."
McIlroy gave yet another example of his supreme talent by romping to a seven-stroke triumph at the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina on Sunday.
He has developed a penchant for runaway victories in his short career but he is not fussy how he achieves them.
"I`ll take any wins any way I can get them, whether it`s by one shot or in a playoff or by seven shots like last week," said McIlroy who also won the Dubai Desert Classic in February and the WGC-Cadillac Match Play in California at the start of this month.
"I feel like now I`m a player that can win all different sorts of ways which I`m happy about. I can be in contention and guts it out with a few other players or separate myself.
"I separated myself from the field (with a 61) on Saturday so I went out on Sunday and didn`t need to do much. It was sort of a stress-free 18 holes."
McIlroy launches his campaign at the BMW PGA Championship, an event that carries a prize fund of five million euros ($5.55 million), at 0835 local time on Thursday in the company of European Ryder Cup team mates Martin Kaymer and Jamie Donaldson.