World No.1 Rory McIlroy may have been forced to settle for second best at the BMW Masters but he has no intention of filling the runners-up spot again when he competes in next month's Singapore Open.
McIlroy strengthened his bid to win a first Race to Dubai title in Shanghai at the weekend, despite finishing a stroke behind Ryder Cup colleague Peter Hanson.
McIlroy is 1/16 to win the Race to Dubai while Justin Rose can be backed at 10/1 and Luke Donald at 100/1 with
bet365.
The 23-year-old will face a strong field when he lines up in Singapore from 8th to 11th November which will include the likes of four-time Major winner Phil Mickelson, three-time champion Adam Scott and 2010 Open winner Louis Oosthuizen.
But, after a year that has seen him clearly establish himself as the world's number one player, McIlroy knows that he will be the one to beat if he plays his best and is relishing his new role.
He told the European Tour website: "The status (of being world number one) adds pressure but it's something that I thrive on. People expect me to play well, and I expect myself to play better.
"I know that I can be hard to beat when I am at my best, so I go into every tournament knowing that if I play well then I have a good chance of winning. I will always feel that way no matter what my ranking."
McIlroy, who finished fourth in Singapore on his first appearance in 2008, is clear favourite to win the Race to Dubai after amassing earnings of $3,407,300 which would see him repeat Luke Donald's feat last year of topping the money earnings on both sides of the Atlantic.
"I am leading the Race to Dubai at present and it is definitely my goal to finish there at the end of the season," said McIlroy.
"It is very close at the top right now and I know that I need to have a strong end to the season in order to win both orders of merit titles. A good performance in Singapore will certainly help my chances, so hopefully I can go a few better than my fourth place finish there in 2008."
