Justin Rose produced a brilliant win last Sunday at the WGC Cadillac Championship, but the hero for me was Rory McIlroy once again. What he has achieved in the last six-odd months is mind-boggling. To have as many as 12 top-ten finishes in 13 starts is incredible.

Very rarely do you see streaks such as this in golf. It may not be as good as Lord Byron Nelson's amazing run of 11 tournament wins on the trot in 1945, or Tiger Woods' seven in a row in 2007, but given the way modern golf is played, it is an outstanding effort and Rory has rightly earned the best possible reward — the honour of being called the world No 1.

I honestly thought that there would be a let-up, especially after he won the Honda Classic and climbed to No 1 for the first time in his career.

But Rory has proved to be relentless in finishing third in Miami, and I just hope that he carries on his awesome form into the Masters next month.

Rory once said I was the person who talked him into playing on the PGA Tour when he first took his card there.

For me, the fact that his style of play suits the American courses was a no-brainer. But during that lunch we had a couple of years ago, I only told him that he needs to play the PGA Tour once before he makes up his mind.

Sunday was also a bit of a dampener for the fans when Tiger walked off the course after 11 holes with an injury.

From what I have read, it was a minor strain in the Achilles tendon and he is hoping to be back playing the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.

Hopefully that will be the case because the resurgence of Woods and the magic of McIlroy was making the Masters this year an eagerly-anticipated event.

Fantastic effort

It would be unfair not to mention Rose's brilliant performance in Miami. I thought he was fantastic in putting together four consistent rounds at the famous ‘Blue Monster' course of Doral.

Modern equipment has taken the bite out of the course, but 16-under was still an outstanding effort. I think Justin would be one of the top-five favourites at the Masters this year.

I return to action after a break of three weeks with the Andalucia Open at Costa del Sol. It's a three-week run for me in Spain, followed by Morocco and Italy. Hopefully, I will get some good finishes from the good hitting form I am in.

 

Jeev Milkha Singh is a three-time winner on the European Tour