OVERVIEW Rory McIlroy has signaled his intentions for 2019 — he wants back at the top of golf. The 14-time PGA TOUR winner and former FedExCup champion wants nothing less than excellence and with a more condensed schedule on the horizon, he has doubled down on his presence in the USA. Having split his time between the PGA TOUR and European Tour in recent seasons, McIlroy says his focus, at least for the first six months of the year, will be in the U.S. And this means he is set to fire things up at the Sentry Tournament of Champions for the first time after forgoing an invitation six times prior. More Rory for us to feast on can never be a bad thing. As always the key for McIlroy is putting. He has the length and accuracy to match anyone in the world, so when he gets the putter pumping you can be sure he’s in contention. Last season he was 97th in Strokes Gained: Putting – which was actually his best result in the statistic since 2014 (41st). He won the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard when he was ranked first in the metric for the four rounds at Bay Hill. For McIlroy golf is now about increasing his legacy. He won the last of his four majors in 2014, but he has at least two top 10s across the four majors during each of the last four seasons since. McIlroy is always unquestionably one to watch and thankfully it appears we are about to get more of him to do just that. — By Ben Everill Click here to see who else made the Top 30 list. BY THE NUMBERS FEDEXCUP UPDATE Current 2018-19 position: 186th Playoff appearances: 8 TOUR Championship appearances: 5 Best FedExCup result: Won the FedExCup in 2016. SHOTLINK FUN FACT Rory McIlroy led the PGA TOUR in driving distance last season, averaging 319.8 yards on all measured holes. That’s the second-highest average since 1980 (Hank Kuehne averaged 321.4 yards in 2003). INSIDER INSIGHTS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Rory McIlroy in 2019. TOUR INSIDER: McIlroy’s decision to concentrate hard on the PGA TOUR early in 2019 is set to pay huge dividends. With a settled travel schedule and a real focus on his FedExCup charge, I expect he will once again add to his win column and make a play towards another stint at the top of the world rankings. If his putter turns up just half the time, he can be near-unbeatable. — By Ben Everill FANTASY INSIDER: Rory McIlroy … Since he appeared in my full-membership ranking that published in late September, and already with higher expectations slotted at No. 4, he’s reversed his decision to forego membership on the European Tour in 2019, so he’s retaining his dual-tour profile. However, it’s not a development that should concern PGA TOUR gamers because he’s not compromising his focus to complete the career grand slam at the Masters – his last major as a 20something – and he’s always maintained a controlled, predictable schedule in the U.S. His baseline is at least one victory among 7-8 top 10s in no more than just 18 starts. — By Rob Bolton EQUIPMENT INSIDER: Like a few others on this list, McIlroy was using a Mitsubishi Tensei CK Orange shaft for a portion of 2018, but he’s since switched back to ol’ faithful, a Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Silver 70X shaft in his TaylorMade M3 driver (8.5 degrees). McIlroy also made equipment news in 2018 by using a TaylorMade TP Black Copper Soto putter with a red Surlyn face insert to win the 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational. While he used the putter off and on through the 2018 Ryder Cup, he’s since switched back into a TaylorMade putter with a milled face, however. I’d be remiss not to mention his irons, as well; he’s still using the TaylorMade P-730 Rors proto irons (5-9) that shook up the equipment world when he first put them into play in 2017. But could it be time for an iron switch in 2019? — By Andrew Tursky STYLE INSIDER: When you see Rory in 2019, he will be wearing the latest and greatest from Nike. He already gave us a preview of his footwear choice for the new year when he debuted Nike’s React Vapor 2 at the TOUR Championship. McIlroy first experienced the lightweight and responsive React foam in a pair of Nike running shoes and has called it “a game changerâ€� on the course. — By Greg Monteforte
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