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McIlroy set for new challenge in Sun City

Golf: Rory McIlroy will look to bounce back from his recent double disappointment at this week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun…

Wed Dec 02 2009 - 00:00

Golf:Rory McIlroy will look to bounce back from his recent double disappointment at this week's Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City, South Africa.

McIlroy was pipped to the European money list title by stablemate Lee Westwood last month, despite leading going into the season-ending Dubai World Championship.

The 20-year-old then teamed up with Graeme McDowell at the World Cup in China and led for three days after an opening 58, only to be eventually beaten by a shot by Italy’s Edoardo and Francesco Molinari.

McIlroy can still look back with pride on a successful season that saw him win the Dubai Desert Classic and break into the world’s top 10 for the first time.

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And he is now aiming to shake off the effects of a long season with victory at Sun City in the 12-man field.

“Myself and Gmac (McDowell) were obviously disappointed that we didn’t win at Mission Hills but we played great together and the main thing was that we really

enjoyed ourselves,” said McIlroy after the World Cup.

“It would have been fantastic to win but we both played pretty average on the last day and still had a good chance, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

“I’m sure myself and Graeme will have plenty more chances in the future of taking the World Cup back to Ireland.”

McIlroy revealed he was feeling “run down” and only managed a few shots on the range yesterday before retreating to his hotel room, but did complete a round of 69 in today’s pre-tournament pro-am.

Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, joint second with Robert Karlsson alongside McIlroy and McDowell at Mission Hills, won last year’s event with a 21-under-par total.

But the world number seven feels that total could be eclipsed, with less rough to penalise wayward drives.

“I might bring the driver out on a few occasions this year,” said Stenson. “But for me it still feels like there are quite a lot of three woods off the tees just to put yourself in position.

“The course is quite a lot different because the rough is down. The wind can still swirl and play some tricks but other than that I would expect the scoring to be a bit better given that the rough is not as severe as it was.”