SOUTHAMPTON Sailor Ian Walker and his Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing crew have received words of inspiration from an unlikely source while on the third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, with the world’s number one golfer, Rory McIlroy, revealing he is cheering them on.

McIlroy, the current world number one and four-time Major champion, finished second in the Abu Dhabi Championship over the weekend, despite hitting his first professional hole-in-one.

And the Northern Irishman revealed he has been following Walker’s progress in the Volvo Ocean Race closely, and fully expects the Southampton sailor and his crew to overhaul the Chinese Dong Feng Race Team at the head of the fleet in leg three and add to their first leg victory.

“I think Ian and the boys have a great chance,” McIlroy said before speaking to Walker and his crew via a satellite link-up.

“I’ve met Ian a few times and I have a lot of respect for what these guys do.

“I think golf is a lot easier than these guys are doing right here. I’d much rather have my feet firmly on the ground than being out in the middle of the ocean.

“It’s impressive what these guys do and what they go through, out there for weeks on end.”

Asked if he ever fancied jumping onboard to emulate Walker, he responded: “No, I don’t think so. I have to be honest, I am much better on land than I am on water. I’ll leave that to the experts.”

Walker, who is a keen golfer himself and plays off a 20 handicap, said that talking with McIlroy had given his crew the inspiration they needed to try to claw back the 70 nautical mile lead that the Dong Feng Race Team currently held over the rest of the fleet as they head towards the Straits of Malacca.

"It’s certainly not over yet,” said Walker “We’re two weeks in to this third leg now and we’ve still got about 10 days to go.

“Most of the time we’re just heads down, trying to improve our performance. We’re about 68 miles behind, but it only takes the other boat (Dong Feng) to slow down for a few hours and we’re into them.

“So hopefully they’ll find a few bunkers, or whatever the golf analogy is, and we’ll be able to catch them in the Strait of Malacca.”