McIlroy biding his time

McIlroy: Adjusting

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Rory McIlroy admits that getting to the top of his profession may be a long-term process.

The Irish teenager took the European Tour by storm when he turned professional last year but has found the going much tougher in his first full season.

After finishing third in the Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews in only his second start, McIlroy came fourth in Madrid just a week later.

He was immediately talked about as a Ryder Cup prospect for Valhalla, but seven months on he is down in 116th place on the Order of Merit and 35th in the Ryder Cup standings.

This week's Irish Open at Adare Manor near Limerick would be a great time to remind everyone of his talent, however.

Learning process

"I've tried to pace myself a bit this year and have my schedule so I was fresh coming into this stretch of events," stated McIlroy.

"It's just a learning process, getting used to travelling to the Far East. I've never been to a place as hot or sweaty as Malaysia before, so it's a whole new experience for me.

"I think my progress has been okay. It hasn't been anything too spectacular but you really don't know what to expect.

"It's difficult to win on tour and my expectation for the year is to try to finish in the top 60 of the Order of Merit.

"The season is really only starting now with all of the big events coming up and hopefully I can challenge in a couple of them.

"After Dubai in February I took a few weeks off and when I came back and missed a couple of cuts I sort of realised that you can't really get complacent.

"You just have to keep working hard because all of the guys are working hard out here to try and beat you.

"One lesson I've learned is that you like expect that there's going to be a few hiccups along the way and learn how to deal with things.

"Those missed cuts have sort of given me a kick up the backside. I probably went too long without hitting balls or without practising."