Rory McIlroy has revealed that he is planning to play in more tournaments at the start of 2016 as he looks to reclaim the world number one spot ahead of The Masters.

The 26-year-old is currently third in the standings behind Jordan Spieth and Jason Day, but is hoping that increasing his pre-Masters tournaments from five to seven next year will see him return to the summit.

"If I can get off to a good start next year, I can get back to number one going into the Masters," McIlroy is quoted as saying by BBC Sport. "I'm going to play two more tournaments leading up to Augusta in April.

"I need to feel I'm right in the middle of the season at Augusta. Over the last couple of years, I've played pretty well at Augusta but I've got off to a little bit of a slow start each time. Whether that was because I was a little bit under-golfed, that definitely won't be the case in 2016."

The Masters is McIlroy's last remaining obstacle in a career Grand Slam.