The world number one ranking is being passed around like a “hot potato” due to the depth of talent in the sport, Rory McIlroy said on Wednesday as he looks to regain top spot from Scottie Scheffler at the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational this week.

McIlroy, who became number one for the ninth time in October, slipped to second last weekend after Scheffler retained his Phoenix Open title but is only 0.5 points behind the American.

“I’ve got a chance to get it back this week,” the Northern Irishman told reporters ahead of the opening round at Riviera County Club in Pacific Palisades. “Hopefully it’s a bit of a sort of hot potato thing where me, Scottie and Jon (Rahm) sort of pass it around a little bit because it means we’re all playing great golf.

“I think it’s a really cool thing to be ranked number one in whatever you do, but I think it just goes to show the level of depth and the level of talent that’s out here,” the 33-year-old added.

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McIlroy said he had lost the top ranking to Scheffler despite not playing poorly. “I literally have one average week, it wasn’t even a bad week, just an average week, and there’s always someone waiting to overtake you or to come and try to take that mantle from you,” he added.

Tournament host Tiger Woods has also committed to playing at the event, which will mark his first non-major PGA Tour start since October 2020.