Rory McIlroy has more on his mind than his putting stroke and a move to the PGA Tour next season is still very much on the agenda.

Mixed messages have been emerging from the McIlroy camp recently with his manager, Andrew 'Chubby' Chandler, e-mailing the US-based 'SportsBusiness Journal' last week to tell them: “Rory has decided not to join the PGA Tour in 2010.”

That's news to McIlroy, apparently. “That's not correct,” he said, after a nine-hole practice round for tomorrow's Volvo World Match Play Championship opener with Masters champion, Angel Cabrera.

“I am still thinking about it. I love playing in America. I play well over there and I am still thinking about taking out my PGA Tour card next year.

“There are a few things to weigh up. For instance, I don't want to try and play an event in America and come straight back to play one in Europe. That's tough.

“I am not saying that money is a factor in this, but the European Tour has been hit a lot harder by the economic crisis than the American tour.

“Look at the Frys.com Open last week. There was no one in the top 20 in the world in the field and yet they were still playing for $5m.”

Scheduling, not money, is McIlroy's bugbear.

Outside the World Golf Championships in Tucson and Miami, the early 2010 European Tour schedule features just three events between the Dubai Desert Classic in early February and the Masters in April; though the European Tour's chief executive, George |O'Grady, confirmed in Dublin last week that there has been “interest” in the free dates.

McIlroy is certainly glad he is ranked 16th in the world and unlike players ranked outside the top 50, he look can forward to two American-based World Golf Championships in the early part of next season.

“If you are not in the top 50 in the world on the European Tour next year, you are going to have a six-week break after the 'Gulf Swing' where you are not going to play very much,” he said.

“After Dubai there is not going to be an event for a while. The only way you can play golf if you are a member of the European Tour, is to be in the top 50 in the world and play the Accenture Match Play, Honda, Doral, then Houston, the Masters, Wachovia, the Players and you are not back until Wentworth.”

Padraig Harrington joined the PGA Tour so that he could play regular PGA Tour events in the run up to the Majors without having to rely on invitations from American sponsors and while McIlroy says he does not need a two-event build-up, he loves the American scene.

“I love playing over here but I love playing the States as well, because it really suits my game,” he said. “Why am I waiting? Just to think about it. Just to mull it over. It is a big decision and it is going to mean more time away from home, which is a big factor.

“I wouldn't buy a US base. I'd probably rent a place in West Palm Beach for six weeks and I have been thinking about it. Nothing has been decided.”

For the moment, McIlroy is concentrating on improving on his putting performance in the Portugal Masters two weeks ago, where he finished 63rd out of 68 on the greens.

“I've been listening to the Bob Rotella audio book, ‘Putting Out of Your Mind'. I just feel like I need to free everything up,” he said.

“I still work with Dr Paul Hurrion but I just need to let it flow a bit more. Obviously when you are thinking about mechanics the way Paul teaches, you can get a little bit wooden. So I am just trying to free it all up.”