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• Northern Irishman in confident mood ahead of season-opener
• “I’m coming into this year with a nice little bit of momentum”
• Has goals for 2015 written on the back of a boarding pass

RORY McILROY

Rory McIlroy is confident he can continue his fine 2014 form over the coming 12 months as he prepares to get his 2015 season underway in Abu Dhabi tomorrow.

The 25-year-old is coming off the back of a phenomenal year in which he took his career major tally to four with victory in the Open and PGA Championships. In between, he claimed the first World Golf Championship of his career in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He also won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, topped both the Race To Dubai and PGA Tour money list, and reasserted himself at the top of the official world golf rankings.

Repeating all that success will be a tall order but, after enjoying some time off over the festive season, McIlroy insists he ready to hit the ground running, starting in the UAE this week.

“Over the Christmas period I had my first chance to really look back and reflect on the year and even watch a few of the highlights of some of the tournaments that I won,” the Northern Irishman told europeantour.com. “It was nice to reflect, but I feel 2014 has really set me up for another great year. I feel like I’m coming into this year with a nice little bit of momentum, and my game is feeling good.

“In my back pocket, in my wallet, is a boarding pass with my goals for this year.” – Rory McIlroy

“It was nice to have that little break but it’s time to look forward now towards this season and try to accomplish the goals that I set for myself at the start of this year.”

Those goals, he revealed, are written on the back of a boarding pass, which he keeps in his wallet.

“Every year I fly here and I do a week or ten days of preparation in Dubai before this tournament, and I write my goals down on the back of my boarding pass, put it in my wallet and memorise them,” said McIlroy. “Then I don’t look at them until the end of the year.

“So in my back pocket, in my wallet, is a boarding pass with my goals for this year. I don’t really want to share them with anyone else as they are just my little goals, and I’ll try and achieve those and take that boarding pass out at the end of the year and see how well I’ve done.”

It is probably safe to assume that winning the Masters is one of the items on McIlroy’s boarding pass. Doing so would see him become just the sixth male golfer to complete the career grand slam.

Rory McIlroy :: What does 2015 have in store?

What do you think Rory McIlroy will achieve over the coming 12 months? Grand slam glory? Other major wins? Regular tour wins? No wins? Leave your thoughts in our ‘Comments’ section below.

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Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor

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