Tour News:This is how the world has changed for Rory McIlroy. A few months ago, he was the world's top-ranked amateur, with a catalogue of titles to his name.

Yesterday, now very much a professional, he moved to 201st in the world rankings; conducted a corporate day in Dubai, before moving on to the Qatar Masters, and signalled his intention to become a global player by committing to play his first tournament in Japan, next May, as part of an itinerary that broadens his horizons.

For sure, the PGA European Tour is where McIlroy, at the ripe old age of 18, sees his immediate future.

And while he has left the entire month of February free from his schedule so that he can head off on a cruise holiday (symptomatic of how he intends to do things his way), McIlroy's decision to accept an invitation to the Crowns tournament in Japan is an indication of his ever growing appeal.

That particular tournament numbers Greg Norman (1989), Seve Ballesteros (1991), Davis Love (1998), Darren Clarke (2001) and Justin Rose (2002) among its champions.

McIlroy will head on to the Crowns tournament after playing in the BMW Asian Open in Shanghai.

As his manager, Chubby Chandler, explained: "Sometimes it can be difficult to gauge what you are doing with Rory's schedule. For a lad his age, he gets far more opportunities than you'd expect. And because there's more opportunities, there's also more options, and it is easy to lose track of where you are trying to get to."

Yet, there are definite targets lined up. Chandler elaborated: "The two main goals are to get into the world's top 100 in time to qualify for the US PGA (in Rochester in August) and to get into the Volvo Masters. These are two proper goals that should be attainable. Every time he makes world ranking points it should be a plus (because he is new).

"Whereas, with other people, it could be a minus depending on their performance the year before. I think he has got to get 32 world ranking points to get into the top-100 by the US PGA, so we know where he is. It is a realistic goal."

Chandler's management company has mapped out what is thought to be a manageable schedule for McIlroy.

After his tied-11th place finish in the Abu Dhabi championship, McIlroy is committed to playing this week's Qatar Masters and next week's Dubai Desert Classic, after which he takes February off.

He then returns with the Malaysian Open and the new Ballentines tournament in Korea, followed by another two weeks off, and then the Andalucian Open, the Portuguese Open, the BMW in Shanghai and the Crowns in Japan, which takes him up to a one-week break before the Irish Open at Adare Manor.

"It's actually easier once the travelling gets out of the way and we're back in Europe," said Chandler.

Of course, the best-laid plans can come unstuck, and if McIlroy hits targets ahead of time, his itinerary could change.

"I'll tell you what could really put the cat among the pigeons: if he qualified for the US Open (at Torrey Pines in June) and suddenly tore off to San Diego. Things like that can throw the schedule off the rails. but it is all about trying to get him the right experience and ensure that he doesn't end up out on his feet by the US PGA," said Chandler.

McIlroy's strong weekend showing at Abu Dhabi has moved him to within touching distance of a place in the world top-200, and he will aim to keep the momentum going in Doha this week, where he is part of a six-strong Irish challenge that also includes Paul McGinley, Graeme McDowell, Gary Murphy, Peter Lawrie and Damien McGrane.

"I've never played Qatar, but everyone tells me it is right up my street.

"To be honest, I'm not surprised at how well I'm hitting it," said McIlroy. "I did a lot of practice over the New Year when I hit balls for four hours a day in Dubai over a week. That helped. I'm just trying to groove it in. I think I am nearly there. I am there ball-striking wise, if I could just put it all together I would be doing good."

McGinley's first top-10 finish in over 15 months, since the Mallorca Classic in 2006, moved him up 20 places in the rankings to 186th.

"I've contended in Qatar and Dubai before, so I'm looking forward to the next two weeks," said McGinley.

"A top-10 finish is a step in the right direction, but I'm going to need to improve my putting if I am going to contend. It is all about the top spots, and the bottom line is that it's got to be first, second or third. That's where the big world ranking points are, and that's how you make progress as I proved last year by making virtually every cut without making any impact on the rankings.

"It's much better having a see-saw year than being steady. The big points are in the big finishes and that's what I'm aiming for."

Setanta Sports have won the rights to broadcast the US Masters live in Ireland for the next three years, beginning in April.

The broadcaster will show all four days live from Augusta on the Setanta Ireland channel.