WGC Mexico: The battle for World no.1

Rory McIlroy could become World no.1 this week

With the exception of Jason Day, all of the world’s top 50 players will be present at the WGC Mexico Championship this week, with the event moving away from Florida for the first time since 2007.

Rory McIlroy returns from injury to start his first PGA tournament of the year at Club de Golf Chapultepec, and the 27-year-old has a huge incentive to finish top of the pack.

It may be unlikely given the recent stress fracture to his ribs that left him out for several weeks, but there is still a possibility McIlroy could reclaim the World no.1 title for the first time since September 2015.

Thanks to World no.2 Jason Day withdrawing, a win at the WGC Mexico Championship could put him back in the top spot – providing Dustin Johnson finishes in a two-way tie for third or worse. However, an in-form DJ will hope to hold the mantle for a while longer as he tees up for his first outing as the World’s best, having cruised to a five-shot victory at the Genesis Open two weeks ago.

“It’s nice to be able to say you’re the best in the world at what you do,” McIlroy said.

“It would be nice to get on a run like I did in ’14 and separate myself from the rest of the guys.”

“It’s nice to be in the conversation at least and I know that if I play well in the the weeks that I play I’ll have the chance to get back there.”

This is the first time the tournament will be played away from Trump National Doral Golf Course in a decade, and McIlroy will be particularly glad to find himself at a venue other than Blue Monster. The current world no.3 led by three shots after 54-holes in 2016 before suffering a final-round collapse that left him third behind Adam Scott and Bubba Watson.

It was not the first-time McIlroy had fallen foul of the water at Doral, having famously propelled his 3 iron into the lake at the 8^th the previous year – which was then duly returned by Donald Trump, who sent a scuba diver to find it.

Henrik Stenson also re-joins the field this week for his first PGA Tour start of the year, and the Open Champion will be targetting a strong finish. The World no.5 has been in the top 10 in each of his last six events, finishing second in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic at the start of February.

Adam Scott returns as the defending champion for the second week in a row, and comes in to the tournament having finished 14^th in last week’s Honda Classic – 8 shots back of Rickie Fowler.

While it will be the first time a World Golf Championship has been played in Mexico City, Club de Golf Chapultepec is one of Mexico’s oldest and most popular courses, having host the Mexican Open several times in its history.

The tree-lined course may not be as famous as Blue Monster, but the players will still have to contend with water. The 6th, 7th and 17th holes are all protected by lakes which will provide an added challenge to the high altitude of up to nearly 7800 feet.

The altitude has already been well documented as making a huge difference to the length the ball travels and last week’s winner Rickie Fowler said that the change could play a huge impact mentally.

“It will definitely be a factor. Getting adjusted to how far the ball is going can be a struggle but it is more mental than anthing,” Fowler said.

“Telling yourself this 7-iron is going to go 210 or whatever it might be. And then you add factors like hitting into the wind. It is a week you have to think through everything and get really committed.””