Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Like many golf fans across the world, I sat in amazement as the action from the Emirates Golf Club unfolded last week and I witnessed a teenager from Holywood, Northern Ireland with a 'Dennis-the-Menace-esque' haircut take apart one of the strongest fields ever assembled on the European Tour. Rory McIlroy has definitely arrived!
Ok, so he may have stumbled slightly getting over the winning line, but there is no doubt that this lad is the real deal and considering his age, the boundaries of what he can achieve are endless. I got the feeling I was watching somebody who is soon going to emerge as one of the best players in the world, if he isn't already.
McIlroy said before the tournament that making it into the top 20 was one of his goals for the year - he managed to achieve that by the first week of February, so who knows what else he might achieve this year. He may have to now reassess his goals!
It was a fabulous victory, his maiden European Tour triumph, one that moves him to 16th place in the world rankings, and quite simply he has established himself as one of the best young golfers in the world - potentially better than Camilo Villegas and Anthony Kim.
At just 19 years of age he is still getting stronger, fitter and is gaining length all the time. He seems to be 10 yards longer now than he was this time last year and, as a coach, I do love the way he swings a golf club.
As a measure of how far he has come, and how quickly, the former Walker Cup player has only been a professional for less than 18 months and at the end of August last year he stood 172nd. Now his world ranking is a lower number than his age - at 19 that is some achievement.
Perhaps the comparisons with Tiger Woods are a little premature, but it was lovely to hear the words of Tiger's close friend Mark O'Meara. He has no reason to heap praise on McIlroy, but he said the Irishman swings the club better than Tiger did at the age of 19 - and that is a huge compliment.
Now that he has won one, he won't just want to be a tournament winner. He is a major champion in the making and if he addresses all of the facets he needs to achieve that then I can see him winning one in the next couple of years. In fact, I'd be amazed if he isn't contending for majors this season and at least for him to become a multiple winner this year - genuinely, he could win the Race to Dubai.
McIlroy should have won twice last season - he let the opportunities slip through his fingers in Hong Kong and Switzerland - but winning is a habit and now that he has tasted it, the next one might not be too far away.
McIlroy does not intend competing on the European Tour again until the Irish Open in mid-May and will take in several tournaments in the United States before then.
His World Championship debut will be at the Accenture Match Play in Arizona in three weeks' time and then he travels to Florida and Texas, before heading to Georgia for the Masters at Augusta from April 9-12 where a practice round with Tiger has already been arranged by O'Meara.
It is probably a good thing that he will make his PGA Tour debut in relative anonymity, where the weight of expectation will not be as great as it is around the European Tour since Dubai. I'm sure it won't last long; Rory McIlroy has the star quality to go right to the top and we all know how Holywood loves a superstar.
