Rory McIlroy hopes to rise above food poisoning

Rory McIlroy WGC-HSBC Champions

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Rory McIlroy is confident that he can have a good week at the WGC-HSBC Champions event if he can get over a bout of food poisoning.

The Northern Irishman is in China for the final World Golf Championship event of the year and the second tournament of the European Tour’s Final Series.

The 26-year-old finished in a share of sixth at last week’s Turkish Airlines Open and clearly felt he could have done better.

There was a sense that he was on a mission this week but the Ryder Cup star was unable to participate in Wednesday’s pro-am after succumbing to a dodgy sandwich in the Far East.

“It wasn’t good at all,” he told www.europeantour.com. “I just had a piece of toast and a couple of bits of melon for breakfast and I came out here thinking that I would just to try to hit a few more balls.

“But even after making a couple of swings my stomach was too sore even to attempt another shot.”

The Holywood-born ace is well clear in the Race to Dubai standings and looks set to wrap up the European title over the next few weeks, but he will want to put on a good show this week in Shanghai to lay down a marker for next year with a number of Americans in the line-up.

Youngster Jordan Spieth has usurped the four-time major winner as the new kid on the block while Jason Day’s amazing run of form has seen the Australian top the word rankings.

And McIlroy, who can be backed at 7.00 to win, is desperate to keep up his excellent record in the event and prove he is on the way back.

“I’ve played well here every time I have travelled,” added McIlroy. “I haven’t finished outside the top 15. I’m hoping, providing that I feel a lot better, that I can really make a run at it.”

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