Rory McIlroy: World number two confident about Genesis Invitational bid

Rory McIlroy is pleased with his play as he prepares to challenge for his first Genesis Invitational success at Riviera Country Club.

On Thursday, the world number two will play Tommy Fleetwood and Collin Morikawa, who is coming off his win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last Sunday.

McIlroy finished tied for 14th, five shots behind Morikawa, but made an impressive final-round 64 as he prepares to defend his Masters title in April.

“I’m working through the first part of the year trying to shake off a little bit of the rust,” the five-time major champion said.

“I learned a lot about my game last week. I played well at a lot of it but I hit some big numbers that put me out of contention on Sunday.

“I feel like there are enough good things to encourage me to go out there this week.

“I think the fact that I’m hitting a lot of good shots and getting closer and turning them into a lot of shots, that should give me confidence not just for this week but going forward.”

McIlroy’s best finish in the championship came four years ago when he finished 10th.