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McIlroy hopes to use ringside seats to Mayweather-Pacquiao

Rory McIlroy had plans to attend previous iterations of a Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight, which never materialized. Even if he manages to reach the final 16 at the WGC-Match Play, he still hopes to get to Las Vegas for Saturday night's fight. David Cannon/Getty Images

SAN FRANCISCO -- Rory McIlroy has plans to attend the big prize fight in Las Vegas on Saturday night -- and if he pulls it off, it might be more impressive than anything he accomplishes on the golf course this week.

McIlroy, who begins play Wednesday in the WGC-Cadillac Match Play, said he has tickets to the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight. Ringside, no less.

The No. 1-ranked golfer in the world, McIlroy -- who is from Northern Ireland -- said he had designs on going to a discussed bout between the two boxers in 2010.

"It never happened, so sort of waiting five years for this to happen," McIlroy said. "I always said if these two guys fought each other, I wouldn't miss the opportunity to go. Luckily, we're somewhere close, and hopefully I'm still part of this tournament at that time, but it just wasn't an opportunity that I was going to miss."

The problem is, if McIlroy is still part of the tournament, logistics will be an issue.

If he is playing Saturday, that means he will have survived the pool play portion of the Match Play, which sees him face Billy Horschel, Brandt Snedeker and Jason Dufner over the next three days. If he advances to the final 16 players, he would have a match on Saturday morning, followed by another on Saturday afternoon if he advances.

Those afternoon matches are not scheduled to end until approximately 8 p.m. local time -- which is the same time the fight is scheduled to begin.

"Nothing that a few quick birdies won't change if I try and win 7 and 6," McIlroy quipped, noting that in match play the competition can go by quickly.

If McIlroy makes it to the tournament semifinals, he would face a 7 a.m. match on Sunday morning.

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