As he battles Spain’s Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler for the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy made it clear on Wednesday that he’s more concerned about what that coveted position is doing to grow the game rather than how it’s improving his own stock.

“Look, as much as it’s really nice to be ranked No. 1, winning golf tournaments, playing well, it sort of takes care of all of that stuff,” McIlroy said. “So I think it’s really exciting. If I was purely a fan of the game and I see what’s going on, especially at the top, I think it’s a pretty cool thing.

“The run that (Rahm) has been on has been phenomenal. Obviously what Scottie did last year. I’ve had a nice little run over the last sort of 12 months.”

Rahm currently holds the top spot in the OWGR, while Scheffler sits in second and McIlroy comes in at third. Patrick Cantlay and Australia’s Cameron Smith rank as Nos. 4 and 5, respectively.

While that might be how the rankings stand ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational — which begins on Thursday and runs through Sunday — McIlroy realizes that things can change in an instant.

“Like everyone knows, there’s so much parity in our game right now that any given week, any given tournament, someone can pop up and sort of put their hand up and claim to be one of the best players in the world,” McIlroy said. “So I’m just happy to be in that conversation and I just need to keep my head down and keep playing well.”

Scheffler will be looking for back-to-back titles at Bay Hill (Fla.) Golf Course after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2022, while McIlroy hopes to become a two-time champion at the event following his 2018 victory.

“It took me awhile to play this tournament at the start of my career, but then once I did play I don’t think I’ve missed a year since,” McIlroy said. “So really enjoy it here. Enjoy the golf course, enjoy the challenge that it provides and looking forward to the week.”

–Field Level Media