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Last updated: 24th November 2009

McIlroy: World Cup debut

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Despite his disappointment in Dubai over the weekend, Rory McIlroy is adamant he will have few problems lifting himself for this week's World Cup.

McIlroy fell just short in his bid to win the inaugural Race to Dubai as he was pipped by an inspired Lee Westwood at the Dubai World Championship last weekend.

However, he has an immediate chance to bounce back as he teams up with Graeme McDowell to represent Ireland at Mission Hills in what will be his World Cup debut.

"I want to play the best I can for my partner," stated the 20-year-old. "I don't want to let him down. So you know, obviously we are playing for our country which is a huge honour.

"It's my first taste of the World Cup, and, yeah, I don't think there should be any reason why I shouldn't be motivated.

"I'm going to go out there and give it my best shot and it would be a great title to win."

McIlroy also insists he will still be looking to win next year's Race to Dubai despite committing himself to playing on both the European and PGA Tours in 2010.

The rising star of the European game played a total of 25 European Tour events in 2009 as he finished second in the money-list, but that number is sure to drop considerably next year as he divides his time between Europe and the States.

However, the new world number ten still believes he will have every chance of emerging as European number one given the calibre of the tournaments, and the number that are co-sanctioned, that he will be playing in.

"I'll play a little less than that next year definitely," he continued. "But hopefully I'll be a better golfer this time next year than I am now, so I'd like to think that I can give myself the best chance to win on both tours.

"I made that decision because I wanted to become a better golfer, and the best way to do that is to play against the best players in the world every week. Sometimes that's in Europe. Sometimes it's in America."