Mayweather v Pacquiao: Rory McIlroy's race against time to make fight

McIlroy is playing the WGC Cadillac World Match Play at Harding Park in San Francisco this week, and assuming that he makes it to the quarter-finals he will have just minutes to spare.

But the Northern Irishman says he has been "waiting five years for this to happen", and is determined to make it to the MGM Grand on time.

"I always said if these two guys fought each other, I wouldn't miss the opportunity to go," he said.

"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."

McIlroy will be pushing it. The punishing schedule at the match play sees the stars playing twice a day, and McIlroy could easily still be on the course at six o'clock in the evening.

Given that the flight from San Francisco to Las Vegas takes 90 minutes, things will be very, VERY tight.

Assuming minimal traffic, it's a 20-minute drive from Harding Park to San Francisco International airport. At the other end, Las Vegas airport is a mere six minutes' drive from the MGM Grand in normal conditions.

With the fight schedule to start at 8pm, that leaves a theoretical four-minute window for security, getting on and off planes and so on. And even with the benefit of private jets and fast-track lanes, that is not going to be enough.

McIlroy has a plan, though: given that this weekend's golf tournament is match play, the game can finish early - in theory, after as few as 10 holes - if McIlroy puts in a good performance.

And the four-times Major winner has already thought of exactly that. When asked if he's not cutting it too fine, he grinned: "It's nothing a few quick birdies won't change, if I try and win 7 and 6!"