McIlroy is the man to beat – Mickelson

Phil Mickelson admits Rory McIlroy will be arduous to subjugate heading into the FedEx Cup play-offs in New Jersey this week, Sportinglife reports.

The PGA Tour commences its four-tournament race to the finish-line with The Barclays at Ridgewood Country Club on Thursday, and all ocular perceivers will be on world number one McIlroy as he goes for a fourth win in a row after victories at the Open Championship, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the US PGA Championship.

The Northern Irishman leads the FedEx Cup rankings and has two play-off victories to his designation from 2012 but has yet to claim the astronomically immense prize and the 10million US dollar cheque that comes with it.

The top 125 players in the standings have qualified for The Barclays, with the field being trimmed to 100 for the Deutsche Bank Championship, 70 for the BMW Championship and then 30 for the Tour Championship.

Mickelson has qualified for every Tour Championship since the FedEx Cup commenced in 2007, a feat matched only by Steve Stricker, who will not play until December due to hip and back injuries, and Hunter Mahan.

The Californian, who additionally has two play-off wins under his belt, is currently 45th in the rankings but that can transmute very expeditiously with a win and, following a second-placed finish behind McIlroy at Valhalla, Mickelson is brimming with confidence.

“The PGA was an immensely colossal week for me because it was the first time this year my game was back,” he told a press conference.