Rory McIlroy Will Finish Season on a High at 2014 Tour Championship

Rory McIlroy has had a tremendous year, winning a pair of majors—the British Open and the PGA Championship—on either side of his World Golf Championship. However, capturing the FedEx Cup would be the jewel in the crown of a successful 2014.

He is back to No. 1 in the world and was seeded fourth as he went into the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta on Thursday, where he says his attention has been on winning.

Bob Harig of ESPN.co.uk passed on the young man's comments. "Anything other than a win here would be a disappointment," McIlroy said. "After I finished the PGA, all my focus was on the FedEx Cup and trying to win this."

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It was a topsy-turvy front nine holes for the Northern Irishman on the first day; birdies on Nos. 3, 6 and 8 were cancelled out by bogeys on the fourth and seventh greens. Another dropped shot on No. 11 took him to even, and it was looking like a disappointing start to the tournament.

McIlroy got his break on the 17th, however, picking up another birdie. He finished with a one-under 69 for the day, and at just three shots behind the early leaders—Billy Horschel and Chris Kirk on four under—he must feel that the Tour Championship is still more than up for grabs.

McIlroy could, in theory, win the FedEx Cup without victory in the Tour Championship, as the points have been reset in order to give all 29 players a shot at the overall trophy and the $10 million (£6.2 million) paycheck.

Yet McIlroy isn't content with second best.

His significant success this season was only marginally blighted at the BMW Championship last week, where a disastrous third round—including an astonishing four-putt from just five yards out at the 12th hole—resulted in him falling away from the leaders and out of contention.

He did, however, redeem himself slightly with a final round of 66, propelling him into prime position among the contenders at the Tour Championship, where he remains after the first day's play. Modern-day McIlroy will know that keeping his head and his confidence will be important if he is to come through at East Lake.

Incredibly, the 2014 Tour Championship is the first not to be attended by either Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson since 2006, and it's the first time since 1992 that two of golf's biggest names didn’t qualify for East Lake.

Before the tournament started, ESPN.com's Bob Harig passed along McIlroy's comments about their absence: "They're just getting older, Phil's 43 or whatever [actually 44], and Tiger's nearly 40 [39 in December]. So they're getting into the sort of last few holes of their careers, and that's what happens."

There has been a sense of the "changing of the guard" of late in the golfing world, with McIlroy spearheading the new generation. His achievements this year have been unrivaled, and as he looks to help Europe to a Ryder Cup title in September, a Tour Championship win would set him up nicely.

Either way, the young man is in fine form, determined to cement his place among golf's elite players and destined for success. With him being still well in contention after the first day of play, don't be surprised if East Lake—and ultimately the lifting of the FedEx Cup—becomes the start of something special.