Rory McIlroy: Comfortable in his role as Europe's top player at Gleneagles

World No 1 Rory McIlroy says the United States team would be ill-advised to focus on targeting him and Ian Poulter at the Ryder Cup.

McIlroy has established himself as the best player in the world this year, thanks to his two major wins at the Open and the PGA Championship.

Meanwhile Poulter's extraordinary Ryder Cup record of eight points from 11 matches - including his unforgettable match-winning contribution at Medinah in 2012 - has made him a talisman of Europe captain Paul McGinley's side.

"I know (US captain) Tom Watson’s been talking about targeting us two but we’re only one-sixth of the team - there’s 10 other world-class players he’s got to worry about as well and they’re just as capable of putting points on the board," said McIlroy.

"They can target us as much as they want but there’s guys alongside us who can do just as good a job.”

McIlroy, who also won the World Golf Championships event this season, said he was happy to take a leadership role within the team and take the first tee shot on Friday - but only if it was the role McGinley wanted him to play at Gleneagles.

“It’s completely Paul’s decision. I have a job to do which is to win points for Europe - I don’t care what number I play or who I play with," he added. 

"I’ve got a responsibility to put points on the board for Europe and I’m one-twelfth of a team unit and I’m going to play the same role as everyone else. It would be a thrill and a buzz but no matter where I play my objective is just to win my match."

McIlroy said the team's preparations and McGinley's approach to the captaincy had largely stuck to the tried and tested formula which has helped Europe dominate the event in recent years.

“What we’ve been doing has been working - we’ve won seven of the last nine Ryder Cups," he said.

"Paul was very adamant he wants to keep to the same blueprint and just try to enhance it: do what we’ve been doing but a little bit better, that’s the plan all week. We’re winning and you don’t have to reinvent the wheel - we’ve done it before and we want to try to do it again."

Legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was drafted in to give an hour-long motivational talk to Europe on Tuesday and McIlroy - a lifelong United fan who paraded the Claret Jug at Old Trafford last month - was certainly impressed.

“For me as a Manchester United fan it was the highlight of the week so far," said McIlroy, who said he would be likely to have a new driver in his bag for the Ryder Cup

"I didn’t take my eyes off him, I was in a trance listening to everything he was saying and thinking this is the stuff he’s probably said to Man Utd teams over the years. It was a great evening and a really cool thing to be part of.

“Not everyone in the room was a Man Utd fan and they made that known! But it was very useful because we got to ask some questions about what he thought was the key element of being successful as a team. He’s a very inspirational man, when he talks he has a lot of authority and everyone listens."

McIlroy has been sent out as part of a Wednesday practice group with previous Ryder Cup partner Graeme McDowell - as well as Martin Kaymar and Victor Dubuisson - amid intense scrutiny of their relationship.

McDowell admitted that the "dynamic" between them on the golf course had changed as a result of McIlroy's status as the best player in the world.

"He's the world's No 1 player, he's a four-time major champion. The dynamic between him and I has changed forever. He would now be the leader of the two of us and perhaps that dynamic doesn't work as well as it did in the past," said McDowell.

"Perhaps I am the kind of guy that needs that leadership role, or at least to feel on a level with the guy I am playing with."

McDowell said he had not enjoyed playing the fourball format with McIlroy at Medinah in 2012, but said the prospect of reuniting their partnerships in foursomes - where players take alternate shots - would be "a bit different".

"I think we can still play foursomes pretty well together. I love playing off his tee shot, as anyone would," he added.

The other groupings will see Ian Poulter, Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson go out as the second group, with Thomas Bjorn, Lee Westwood, Steven Gallacher and Jamie Donaldson the final quartet.

The United States again set out earlier in the morning, starting out with Zach Johnson, Hunter Mahan, Webb Simpson and Bubba Watson.

Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson were partnered again in the second group out, joining Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker.

Jim Furyk, Matt Kuchar, Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth made up the final fourball.