Legend Player tips McIlroy as future No.1

Golf legend Gary Player reckons Rory McIlroy (pictured)- the young Irishman from Holywood - has the potential to be the next World No.1 golfer. Already No.11 in the world after his third place finish in the Abu Dhabi Championship at the weekend, the 20-year-old is poised to make his 2010 debut on the US PGA tour and Player - a multi-major winner himself - rates his chances of taking over from Tiger Woods very high. As Player warmed up alongside him for the inaugural Saadiyat Beach Classic this week, the enigmatic South African pin-pointed why he felt McIlroy had what it takes to reach the top. ‘He has a great team behind him, bags of talent and one of the best swings in golf. If he continues the way he is going I have no doubt Rory has the potential to be the next World No. 1,’ said Player, who designed the spectacular course on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi. As well as McIlroy, the Saadiyat Beach Classic also welcomed Darren Clarke and former Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance and McIlroy was impressed by the setting. ‘We start our season in Abu Dhabi and have a three week swing in the Middle East. The UAE has become a great destination and with facilities like Saadiyat Beach Golf Club I can only see more and more golfers coming to play here. It's ideal for practising and the facilities are all world class,’ said McIlroy. The golf course is the Arabian Gulf’s first ever beach front venue and boasts some of the finest views of the ocean with an array of challenging holes, running adjacent to the white sands of Saadiyat Beach TaylorMade Burner SuperFast driver TaylorMade 09 Burner Driver TaylorMade Burner Irons TaylorMade Burner SuperFast Fairway woods