FIRST he will try to take care of the world's best, Luke Donald, then he will face up to the resurrected might of the world's greatest, Tiger Woods.

Rory McIlroy may be suffering the after-effects of a virus, but he is even more gripped by the fever running through golf.

The 22-year-old was one of the stars of the game's Super Sunday three days ago. Indeed, his celebration when finally winning the Hong Kong Open, a title he always craved, almost rivalled that of Woods at the Chevron World Challenge for euphoria. With Lee Westwood, the world No 3, also prevailing in South Africa, there were so many heavyweights landing blows it was difficult to know where to look.

Yet like most people, it was the fist pump in California which made the biggest impression on McIlroy.

"December is a month when usually not that much is happening in golf," said the Ulsterman at the Earth course yesterday. "But it was great to see Tiger back.

"It was very, very impressive the way he birdied the last two holes when he needed to. That's something that stays with you; that instinct and that will to win when you have to. It looks like his game is really getting back into shape. The next year is going to be an exciting time for golf."

Try the next month. This Arabian Desert will play host to the world's top four, who are competing for the Dubai World Championship this week, and then, in January, will host the same quartet again -- plus Woods. The Abu Dhabi Championship is Tiger's next appearance following his first win in more than two years, and already the anticipation is building.

"If I was to come up against Tiger it would be the biggest challenge of my career," said McIlroy, a self-confessed 'Tiger geek' as a schoolboy. "It would be a huge learning curve for me just to see how I would handle it. And it would be just great to have the opportunity to do so."

McIlroy would obviously wish to be 100pc for such a confrontation. This week he is anything but. Clearly drained, he paid a visit to the doctor on Monday for tests. "My white blood cell count was very low after I picked up a virus on holiday a few weeks ago, and we're just seeing if the count is back up again," he said. There are, however, certain other counts which need no medical examination to be revelatory.

This is McIlroy's 11th week away from home since the end of September. He has racked up the miles almost as quickly as he has collected the cash. McIlroy has won twice in this period, and conservative estimates say he has picked up £6m in prize money and appearance fees.

Yet while the coffers are brimming, the energy tank is nearing empty. "I've nobody to blame but myself, but it's not something you'll be seeing me doing next year, that's for sure," said McIlroy.

McIlroy is brimming to make one last push for the Order of Merit title.

"As an achievement it would only rank second this year behind winning my first major," said the US Open champion. "But there's a long, long way to go before any of that happens. I have to beat a top-class field and Luke [Donald] would have to finish outside the top nine. He's hardly done that this year.

"Luke's been so consistent in the last 18 months," said McIlroy. "He's won five times, all of them big events. He's deservedly the No 1 ranked player on the money lists and in the world. But, you know, I feel I'm playing well and I will be trying my best to overtake him. I've still got a slim chance. And it would be a great way to finish a great year."

- James Corrigan