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World No.1 McIlroy feels game is heading in right direction after flawless 65

Greatly improved: Rory McIlroy was delighted to post his best round – and finish – of the year so far

Rory McIlroy declared himself satisfied after shooting his best round and finish of 2013 so far.

The world No.1 closed out his involvement in the WGC-Cadillac Championship with a flawless seven-under-par round of 65 around the notoriously tough TPC Blue Monster course at Doral, a round which contained five birdies and one eagle.

That helped the two-time major winner to finish in a tie for eighth, his first top ten of what has been a tumultuous 2013 so far.

A missed cut in his opening event, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, was followed by a first round elimination in the WGC-Accenture Matchplay Championship. That miserable start was then compounded by his contentious withdrawal midway through the second round of last week’s Honda Classic, McIlroy citing mental issues with his game and toothache for quitting on his title defence.

This week’s event looked like it was set to go no better when he laboured to a one-over-par opening round of 73. A second round 69 helped him make his first cut of the year and he showed glimpses of his old self in posting a 71 in round three, before piecing together a stunning 65 – a score bettered only by Adam Scott’s 64 – in the final round at Doral.

Afterwards, McIlroy admitted that his performance over the weekend in Miami had given him a real – and much needed – shot in the arm.

“I was pretty down about my game coming into this week, but a few days like I’ve played, it does my confidence a world of good,” said the 23-year-old. “The 7-iron I hit into the first was one of the best shots I’ve hit, so that was a big confidence boost.

“On Thursday night on the range, I felt like, ‘Just keep doing this, keep doing the rehearsals.’ I had a good range session then went out on Friday, played a lot better, and that continued that on over the weekend.

“A day like today felt like a long way away if I’m honest. That’s been one of my problems; I always think when I’m playing bad that it’s further away than it is. I guess that’s just where I have to stay patient and let whatever happens happen, and know that if I put in the hard work, the results will bear fruit. Whether that’s sooner or later, it doesn’t really matter.”

McIlroy, who signed a reported $250m deal with Nike Golf in January, admitted that his start to the year had been taking its toll on him.

“It has a little bit,” he said. “I’m looking forward to just getting back and working on my game a bit more I guess. I’m not secluding myself but sort of get away from this whole thing a bit and work on my game a bit more in peace and quiet.”

McIlroy’s next event is scheduled to be the Shell Houston Open at the end of the month, two weeks before the opening major of the season, the Masters. He will be practicing hard to keep his game improving in time for that, he said, but added that he had a lot of other activities lined-up, too.

“I’ll practice as hard as I can,” he said. “Next week, I’ve got Ernie’s Proâ€‘Am to play and I’m shooting an ad for The European Tour on Tuesday. So, I’ve got a few bits and pieces to do, and Caroline will come into town at the weekend and I’ll spend a bit of time with her.”

In between all that, he is also planning a round of golf with basketball legend, Michael Jordan. McIlroy said: “He’s asked me so we’ll see.”