Rory McIlroy has denied reports that he has opted against taking out PGA Tour membership next season.

“That’s not correct,” he said after a nine hole practice round for Thursday’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.”

The US based SportsBusiness Journal reported last week that McIlroy’s manager Andrew “Chubby” Chandler had ruled out an American move by the 20-year old in 2010.

“Rory has decided not to join the PGA Tour in 2010,” Chandler said in an e-mail to the American publication.

McIlroy, however, still has other ideas and confessed at Finca Cortesin on Tuesday that he has yet to come to a decision.

“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 $5 million (€3.36m).

“Why am I waiting (to decide)? 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."

After a poor performance on the greens in the Portugal Masters, McIlroy confessed that he been working hard on his putting after being leap-frogged by Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer in the Race to Dubai standings over the past fortnight.

“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.

“You will need to have your chipping and putting boots on this week because there are a couple of reachable par fours and par fives.

“If you don’t hit the green you are going to be doing a lot of chipping and putting and you have to have your short game head on this week.”