Tag: professionals-rory-mcilroy

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European Tour

Rory McIlroy to tee it up at Scottish Open on European Tour

Rory McIlroy will tee up at the 2021 Scottish Open. (Foto: Getty)

Four-time Major Champion Rory McIlroy will bring further star power to a world-class field assembling at the 2021 Scottish Open after confirming he will be one of five players from the top ten of the Official World Golf Ranking to tee it up at the Renaissance Club from July 8-11.

McIlroy will make his seventh appearance at Scotland’s national open – and his first since 2019 – as part of a star-studded line-up including World Number One and recent U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm, and the third, fourth and fifth ranked players, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele.

Rahm, the current Race to Dubai Rankings in partnership with Rolex leader, will go in search of a fifth Rolex Series title when he makes his Scottish Open debut alongside fellow Major winner Morikawa and four-time PGA Tour winner Schauffele, while the 2017 US PGA Championship winner Thomas returns for a second appearance.

World Number 11 Tyrrell Hatton will also look to add to his multiple Rolex Series titles when he tees it up alongside fellow 2018 Ryder Cup stars Tommy Fleetwood, Francesco Molinari and Henrik Stenson, the current European Ryder Cup Captain Padraig Harrington, and his newly appointed Vice Captains Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell.

Reigning Race to Dubai Champion Lee Westwood is also confirmed for this year’s event, alongside 12-time European Tour winner Ian Poulter, fellow Englishman and defending champion Aaron Rai and their compatriots Matt Fitzpatrick, Matt Wallace and 2016 Masters Tournament champion Danny Willett, who have 17 European Tour titles between them.

Leading the home charge will be Robert MacIntyre, the highest-ranked Scotsman in the world at 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking, while American stars Billy Horschel, Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris are amongst the players making their debuts as the second Rolex Series event of the 2021 Race to Dubai takes it’s traditional slot in the week before The Open.

A strictly limited number of tickets are on sale now for each of the four Scottish Open competition days. Tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be available on site during the tournament.  To purchase your tickets, click here.

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Highlights Tours

US Masters: Rory McIlroy misses the cut for the first time since 2010

Image: Getty

Many big names won’t be playing this weekend at the Masters. In a brutal first round on drier, firmer conditions than the November Masters last year, many of the most well-known names in golf struggled to turn things around before the end of yesterday’s second round and didn’t make the cut.

Perhaps most notably among these names is Dustin Johnson, who won last year’s Masters event by 5 strokes at a record-breaking 20 under par just six months ago.

But for fan favourite Rory McIlroy, 31, things have been askew long before he accidently hit his own father in the crowd in an errant approach shot on the seventh hole on Thursday.

McIlroy carded and opening round of 76 at Augusta National this and 74 on Friday finishing six over par, missing the cut by three shots.

“He’s starting to doubt himself, confusion in his swing and nobody’s ever played well with a whole lot of thoughts in your head, commented Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley on Sky Sports.

“There’s a lot of work to be done.

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 09: Rory McIlroy reacts on the 18th green during the second round of the Masters. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

“I think the best thing for Rory is a few weeks in the sunshine on a beach somewhere and clear his head. Sometimes the harder you try at this game the harder it gets, no matter how talented you are.”

McIlroy himself refused to talk to the press after yesterday’s round.

Follow our live Masters scoreboard to keep up to date.

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Live

Watch: Professionals make Tiger Tributes

Rory McIlroy dressed in Tiger's signature style for the first time in his career on Sunday. (Image: Getty)

A handful of players have been praised for their touching show of support to Tiger Woods, following his car crash last week near Los Angeles.

Those paying respects include LPGA legend Annika Sorenstam.

Official statements given via Twitter report that Tiger is recovering and is in “good spirits” in the Cedars-Cinai Medical Centre, where he has received follow-up treatment on Friday.

READ: Reactions to Tiger Woods’ Accident

However, not all players could participate in Sunday’s tribute, with Max Homa, winner of last week’s Genesis Invitational receiving backlash for having not joined in.

His long time hero, Tiger Woods, host of this year’s Genesis Invitational, handed Homa the trophy last weekend in California.

He defended himself, citing his contractual obligations to wear his pre-packed clothes.

It is expected that the injuries sustained in the crash will have a severe impact on Woods’ future in professional golf.

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Fun

How it Started vs. How it’s Going: 5 players then and now

Rory McIlroy signing an Autograph for a very keen young fan in Abu Dhabi, 2013. (Image: Getty)

It’s Friday and January 2021 is almost over. Woohoo! Between the pandemic and the lockdowns, it’s been a long and hard winter so far.

So, despite all that, we wanted to give you something that might make you smile for a second. At Golf Post, we’re dipping our toes in to the wonderful (and at times, terrifying) world of meme culture.

We’re a little late to the game with this one, but here we go with our favourite European Tour players’ throwbacks. These hilarious pictures are perfect if you need a little cheering up.

Let us know on Twitter @golf_post which one was your favourite!

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European Tour

McIlroy off to a perfect start in Abu Dhabi

McIlroy is trying for his first win in Abu Dhabi (Image: Getty)

Round One Report:

Rory McIlroy got his season off to the perfect start as the Northern Irishman carded a stunning eight under 64 in the opening round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the first Rolex Series event of the 2021 Race to Dubai.

The four-time Major winner is still chasing his maiden victory at the prestigious tournament, despite a remarkable record which includes four runner-up finishes, three third place finishes, a top five and a top 15. But his opening 64 was his lowest ever round in 11 appearances at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

McIlroy carded two birdies in the opening three holes, having teed off at the par five tenth which he duly birdied, and coasted to six more in a flawless round which left him one stroke clear at the top.

McIlroy: ” I knew 65 is the best I’ve shot here and I’ve shot it a few times, so I thought let’s try to go one better on the next nine and I was able to do that. Maybe played slightly better on our front nine, but I holed some really nice putts coming in for birdie s. It was obviously a lovely way to start the year.

Leading the chasing pack was three-time Rolex Series winner Tyrrell Hatton, who signed for a seven under 65 which included a pair of eagles in his first nine holes – opening his account for the season with a three at the tenth before picking up another eagle at the ninth.

Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti was a shot further back on six under, while Frenchman Romain Langasque and Rafa Cabrera-Bello of Spain shared fifth place on five under. Defending champion and reigning Race to Dubai champion Lee Westwood opened with a three under 69.

Play was suspended due to darkness with round one set to restart at 7:40am local time.

(Text: European Tour Press Release)

Categories
European Tour

McIlroy aiming to get the job done in Abu Dhabi

Rory McIlory begins his 2021 season with high ambitions. (Photo: Getty)

Four-time Major Champion Rory McIlroy hopes to continue his strong run of form at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship as he starts his 2021 season at the first Rolex Series event of the year.

In ten appearances  the Northern Irishman has finished runner-up three times and third on three further occasions, admitting that he has done “everything but win” around Abu Dhabi Golf Club. The 31-year-old is no stranger to success in the Middle East, claiming four of his 14 European Tour titles in the United Arab Emirates as well as winning the Race to Dubai three times.

McIlroy will begin his campaign in the company of defending champion and reigning European Number One Lee Westwood, and  World Number Three Justin Thomas. The 2017 US PGA Championship winner admits he has been an avid viewer of the tournament in the past as he prepares to make his first appearance in the Middle East.

Former champion Tommy Fleetwood will go in search of a third win in the space of five years at this event. After a near three and a half year wait for his second European Tour title, Fleetwood won the 2017 edition which he then successfully defended the following year. In 2020, he finished runner-up to Westwood.

Rory McIlroy: “It’s good to be back. I started my season in Abu Dhabi from 2008 to 2018 and it’s worked well for me. It’s a golf course I’ve done well at and played well on. I’ve done everything but win here and yeah, I’ll try again and see if I can get the job done.

“I enjoy playing in the desert, this style of golf. Obviously last year was a different year and I really didn’t travel back over this part of the world and play at all. But now with things, it’s still obviously not where we want it to be, but I think we know a little bit more about what’s going on in terms of how the virus is and how it affects you or how it doesn’t affect you in many cases and feel a little more comfortable traveling.

“It’s great to be out here and playing. It’s a great way to start the year. It’s a big event. Got some great players here. Obviously J.T. has made the trip over, as well. The start of our Ryder Cup points starting again, so a lot of guys will want to start well and get themselves off to a fast start in regards to that, too.”

Justin Thomas: “I’m very excited. This is a tournament and a place that I’ve watched on TV many times back home and it’s an unbelievable place. You know, it’s even nicer being on a Troon property for me, a partner that I have and I’m very close with, and it’s an unbelievable course. It’s in immaculate shape.

“It definitely is going to help driving it well. It seems like a course that if you’re driving the ball well, you have the opportunity to make a lot of birdies. The greens are pretty soft and they are in very good shape to where if you put the ball in the right place on the greens, you can make a lot of putts and really go low. That’s kind of been our priority here this week is just figuring out lines, figuring out shots and what I want to hit off the tees.”

Tommy Fleetwood: “I think it’s a great way to start the year. Everybody seems to like coming out to the Middle East just after Christmas and New Year, do some practise, and you come out here and you have some great tournaments to start the year.

“It was never really a course that gave me much pleasure, really. I missed a lot of cuts to start off with and all of the sudden in 2017, things kind of turned around and I started hitting good golf shots around the golf course. I’ve been on a lovely run in this event.”

Text: European Tour Press Release

Categories
Highlights Tours

Rory McIlroy: “He’s been knocking on the door for so long”

Photo: Getty

Question: If you could wave a magic wand, what area of your game would you improve overnight?
RORY McILROY: My iron play. Yeah, my iron play hasn’t been great since coming back from the lockdown. It sort of goes right through the bag. It goes from wedges all the way through to the long irons. I had two 5 irons from the fairway on 10 and 11 today, for example, and just didn’t hit great shots. It’s something to there’s always stuff to work on, but definitely something to work on going into the off season that we have here, and try to come out a little better in 2021.

Q: As you’ve had a little more time to reflect on what happened Thursday, what went wrong?
RORY McILROY: Again, I said yesterday, I just got a little careful, a little tentative, a little guidey, just didn’t trust my swing, didn’t commit to what I was doing, and again, this course more
than any other can make you do that at times. That was really what it was.
The first day I actually did okay. I was even par. It wasn’t even par through 9 here is not that bad, and then just that second morning I just didn’t quite have it. I guess I need to take the
positives, and played the last 54 really well and only made two bogeys in that 54 hole stretch, which is probably the best run of golf I’ve played here.

Rory McIlroy: “I miss the fans a lot”

Q: What did you miss the most this week, just the difference of playing in November?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, the atmosphere, the crowds, the patrons, the feelings that you normally have here that you didn’t quite have. More than any other week of the year I feel like you’re nervous a little more often, and it didn’t quite have that. Not saying it’s a bad thing; I loved the feeling of being relaxed out there and it’s something I probably need to try to adopt
going into five months’ time.

Q: Do you think there’s any advantage to coming right back here in April?
RORY McILROY: Yeah I mean, look, I hope the course is much different in April than it is now. It’s very soft. It’s very I feel like there’s a lot of shots I hit this week where I hit my number and
it would spin back off a green or it just wouldn’t do what you expect it to do, so I’d love to get another shot at it in April and have the course play maybe more what we’re accustomed to.

Q: You’re obviously a multiple major champion. What do you think this is going to mean to Dustin?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, he’s been knocking on the door so long, and I think, again, since coming back out of sort of back in June, the lockdown, he has been by far the best player in the world. He’s won a few times, won a FedExCup, had a chance at Harding Park. And I think, yeah, it validates what he did at Oakmont a few years ago and he’s had so many chances and hasn’t quite been able to close the deal, but his resume speaks for itself, how many times he’s won on the PGA TOUR, how consistent he’s been. I played with him the first two days here. He’s got the ball on a string. It was really impressive.

Q: What are you going to do this off season to kind of get away from golf and reboot? Any TV shows you’re going to catch up on?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, not particularly. I don’t know. I’m just going to be a man of leisure for a couple months. It’s going to be nice. Lie by the pool a little bit, get back on the bike, get back
on the Peloton. I’ve sort of given that a bit of a miss over the last few months. Yeah, just some stuff. Obviously watch my daughter grow up a little bit and have fun with that. But yeah, I’ll try
to get away from it, but yeah, as I said before, there’s certainly some stuff in my golf game that I want to work on before next year.

Q: Is there anything in DJ’s personality from your close interaction with him or traveling with him that you’ve seen of him that maybe we don’t that maybe you could share?
RORY McILROY: He’s smarter than you think.

Q: How so?
RORY McILROY: He’s switched on, more so than he lets on, more so than everyone in the media thinks. I’ll just put it that way.

Categories
Team Ireland

US Open 2020 – Rory McIlroy: “I’m feeling pretty good that I’ve got a good chance tomorrow.”

MAMARONECK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 19: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland waits to putt on the first green during the third round of the 120th U.S. Open Championship on September 19, 2020 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Q. Rory, 2-under 68; how are you feeling about your round today?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, really good. Geez, I think anything under par on this golf course today is a really good score. I saw Alex go out there and shoot 3-under earlier. You know, I’m not saying it’s out there; he got a good one, I did, and there’s maybe a couple other guys that are under par. Yeah, and the wind is not quite as strong as it was yesterday. You know, it maybe played a touch less difficult I’ll say. Not easier, but it was a little less difficult.

But some of the hole locations are still pretty tricky and got to leave yourself on the right side. But yeah, overall 68 out there is a really good score. I don’t know where that’s going to leave me at the end of the day, but I’m feeling pretty good that I’ve got a good chance going into tomorrow.

Q. When you’re in a little bit of a chasing position as you are right now, what kind of conditions are you kind of hoping for or half hoping for tomorrow?

RORY McILROY: It’s sort of a double-edged sword, right, because you would think that you’d want tougher conditions because it’ll make it more difficult for the guys in front of you, but also makes it more difficult for yourself. I think looking at the forecast, the conditions are going to be pretty similar to today, which is fine. If I go out there tomorrow and shoot another 68, I won’t be too far away.

Q. Kind of along those lines, depending on how the next few hours work out, is there a number in your head based on how difficult this golf course is that you feel like legitimately I could come back from?

RORY McILROY: I mean, around here, anything. Not necessarily anything, but I said over there, if Matt pars his way in and is 5-under par, I still don’t think that’s out of it by any stretch of the imagination. You know, it doesn’t take much around here for — someone gets off to a decent start, maybe 1- or 2-under through 5 and then the leader goes the other way, 1- or 2-over through 5, and all of a sudden you’re right in the thick of things.

But yeah, we’ll see what happens. No matter where I am at the end of the day, I feel like I’ve got a pretty good shot.

Q. Is yesterday’s round a little harder to swallow after today?

RORY McILROY: No, not really. I mean, I felt like I finished the round well yesterday. I was sort of hemorrhaging after like 12 or 13 holes, and then to just par my way in, right, so 14 through 18, so five in a row, just to get it in the clubhouse, sort of regroup, and then I sort of started the same way today. I parred the first five, first six holes, made a birdie on 7, made another birdie on 9, so played a really nice stretch of holes there from the 14th last night to the 9th today. I played those holes in 2-under par and didn’t make a bogey in that stretch.

You’re going to have stretches in U.S. Opens where you’re going to make bogeys and you’re going to make mistakes, but if you can back it up with stretches of golf like I showed there, that’s what you have to do. It’s not going to be all plain sailing in this tournament.

Q. Given how hard you had to work to get 68, how surprising is it to look up at the board and see somebody with a 30 on the front?

RORY McILROY: Is that what it was, a 30?

Q. Yeah, missed probably about an eight-footer for 29.

RORY McILROY: Wow. I mean, that’s just — you can’t say anything but that’s just awesome golf. Yeah, I mean, everyone knows how talented Matt is and he played great at Harding Park in the last major. You know, he’s explosive like that. He can get on runs like that. So yeah, I’m not saying it’s out there. I certainly didn’t see shooting 30 on any nine today, but we’ll see what happens over the back nine.

Q. If Matt is leading tomorrow, do you think it helps him to not have to try to win a major with a massive crowd around him in the same way that Morikawa didn’t have to face the crowd at Harding Park?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, of course. Of course, yeah. It’s one variable that you just don’t have to deal with, where — is that a loss of an advantage to you who’s accustomed to being in that environment.

RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think it could be, a little bit. Maybe not a loss of an advantage to me, but just more of a — just makes it a touch easier for the guys at the top. Even today, look, you’ve got Bryson and P-Reed out in the final group, and any other U.S. Open final grouping you’ve got those two guys, things are going to be said and tempers are going to flare. Even if those guys don’t have to deal with that today, it just makes it a little different and maybe a touch easier if you’re in those final few groups.

Q. Do you have a simple explanation for why it hasn’t been the massacre that many expected going into this week?

RORY McILROY: I mean, I guess what’s a massacre? Yeah, okay, 5-over is not going to win like last time and 7-over when Hale Irwin won. I’d say the golf course is playing just as difficult.

You know, you’ve got to think 14 years on the game has changed a lot, guys hit it further, equipment. There’s a lot of different things that — scoring averages have went down a little bit, on average. The game has just moved on a little bit and everyone has collectively, I think, just got a little bit better.

Q. You mentioned just earlier the first three or four holes and how difficult they are and just hoping to kind of get through those unscathed. Can you talk more about what that’s going to mean for you tomorrow and just getting off to a good start?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, fairways and greens. It’s literally just bringing it back to the basics. From that first tee shot, just try and make a good swing and hit the fairway, hit it on the middle of the green, take two putts, especially on that green because it’s probably one of the craziest greens on the course and in golf. And then it’s the same thing on 2, hit the fairway, hit the green. You get yourself out of position those first few holes, it just makes it really difficult.

And when you do get yourself out of position, making bogey is fine. That’s the thing, you look at some of the guys that went off earlier today those first few holes there was some big numbers made, and when you’re in trouble, get it out, play for a 5, and if you’re not going to putt for a 4, that’s a bonus.

Q. The course is playing about a shot easier today. Do you attribute that more to the gentler winds or the hole locations were more gettable?

RORY McILROY: No, the wind more than anything else. The hole locations today I thought were pretty tricky. It was hard to leave a putt dead. Even if you’ve got a putt that’s uphill, once it gets past the hole it starts to go downhill again. It was very hard to leave putts within top-in range. I felt like every time I hit a good putt that didn’t go in, I was marking it and resetting and it was at least three or four feet.

Source: ASAP Sport

Categories
Team Ireland

Rory McIlroy about his new born daughter and the TOUR Championship

OLYMPIA FIELDS, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 30: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland looks on before hitting his shot from the first tee during the final round of the BMW Championship on the North Course at Olympia Fields Country Club on August 30, 2020 in Olympia Fields, Illinois. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

Q. Congratulations on the birth of your new baby, Poppy.

RORY MCILROY: Thank you.

Q. How would you describe the emotions of being a part of that moment with your wife?

RORY MCILROY: Yeah, it’s amazing. I don’t think — you see other people having kids and babies, and you’ll say congratulations and you’re happy for them, but you have no real — you don’t really know how it feels.

Now that I do, anyone that I know that has a child, there’s even more — there’s so much admiration for the mother, what they go through, and it’s just amazing that this — you feel like you get to know your baby while she’s still in her mother’s belly, but to go from not having met this person to having unconditional love for them from one minute to the next is just — there’s nothing like it in the world.

And so many people have went through it and so many people have experienced it. It’s probably the best part of being a human being, and I’m glad that I got to experience it.

Q. Where did you guys decide on the name Poppy?

RORY MCILROY: I don’t know. We really liked it. I have a cousin of mine, her daughter is named Poppy. We know a few other Poppies. And we just really love the name. We were sort of trying to go through a lot of the flower names, Rose, Iris, all those things. My mom is a Rosie, so we were sort of like, That mightn’t work. We know Alex Noren has an iris. Shane Lowry has an iris. We wanted to go with something that was pretty unique, maybe more common back where I’m from, but we landed on Poppy and we loved it.

Q. What have the first couple days been like?

RORY MCILROY: I mean, emotionally drained, right. We got her home yesterday and trying to get her settled into the — it’s nice in the hospital. You’ve got so much help and all the nurses are around and they did a phenomenal job. You don’t appreciate that side of things, as well.

And then you’re handed your child and they’re like, See you later, and they don’t come with an instruction manual.

Look, every parent has to sort of go through it, and we’re going through it. Thankfully Erica has her mom and sister with her at the minute, so she’s got plenty of help and I feel a little better leaving and coming here to play this week.

Q. We talked at Memorial and you said you’re focused on what happens when it happens. So now that’s happened and you can focus on golf now. Are you ready to focus on this week?

RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I am. I think it’s been hard the last couple weeks because you’re sort of in limbo when she’s going to arrive, and then in the back of your mind you’re hoping it’s going to go well. You hope that your daughter is safe. You hope that your wife is safe.

There’s a lot of different things and there’s a lot of things that sort of run through your head, and the fact that all that went well and everyone is good and recovering at home, I feel more comfortable now that I can come out here and play golf and maybe get my mind off it for four or five hours a day, and that’s a nice thing.

And then obviously I can get a couple of good nights’ sleep before I go home.

Q. Was it a little emotional leaving today?

RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I didn’t want to leave. I had — I was supposed to fly at 8:00 so I was going to leave the house — airport is close to our house and I was just going to jump on the plane and come up, so I was going to leave at 7:30. I ended up not leaving until 8:00. It was just hard to leave, really hard to leave.

But at the end of the day life doesn’t stop. Life moves on. And as I said, I know that Erica is surrounded by her family, and my mom and dad are just around the corner, so she’s got all the help she needs, so I felt a little more comfortable being able to go.

Q. You the chance to win your third FedExCup this week, but it would also be your first win as a father. Have you thought about what it would feel like for everything to happen in one week?

RORY MCILROY: Not having — it’s been hard to think about golf the last few days just because I’ve been so focused on making sure that everything is okay at home. But yeah, I mean, maybe this is what I needed, just for everything to happen and go well.

I haven’t played my best since coming back out since sort of post-COVID. But yeah, maybe things just will fall into place. It’s already been the best week of my life, and this would obviously just be the icing on the cake.

Q. People like Jack and Tiger, they’ve had incredible careers, but it seems like when they became dads it just became even better because they had something more to play for. Do you think Poppy is going to be like that for you?

RORY MCILROY: I think so. I mean, I think if you look at fathers in all different sports, golf, tennis, it’s not a new lease of life, but it’s a different perspective. The trials and tribulations of what goes on out on the golf course don’t really seem to matter that much, so you can sort of let it just slide off you a little bit more and not be as reactive to your mistakes and know that this is — it’s important and it’s your career, but at the end of the day you get to go home to your family, which is the most important thing.

Q. Just being here right now with you and talking to you, you’re so content. Do you just feel content and happy right now?

RORY MCILROY: Yeah. I mean, like if I can’t be content and happy right now, I don’t think I’ll ever be. Yeah, we’ve obviously known for a while. We’ve known all this year that Erica was pregnant. We were going to have our first child. Yeah, it’s awesome. It’s the best part of life.

You know, I sometimes think — everything that’s happened to me on the golf course and off the golf course has already been beyond my wildest dreams, and sometimes I have to sort of pinch myself and sort of ask why me, why am I so lucky?

But I’m just so grateful that everything that has happened to me has happened to me. I don’t take this for granted, playing golf and being who I am, but I also obviously don’t take all of my other — my off-course life for granted, either. Especially that’s been never more apparent than over the last few days.

Q. We’re doing kind of a gratitude player diary type thing. You guys are just thankful to be here essentially. Given everything that’s happened in the world, it’s just a miracle that we’re here, honestly. In your own words, if you can just look to the camera and just talk about the fact that we’ve made it and we’re here given everything —

RORY MCILROY: At the end of the season? Yeah. It’s been a trying year for everyone. I think everyone is going to be happy to see the end of 2020. But the fact that everyone rallied together, March, when the sort of sports world shut down seems like a long time ago now, and we know more about the virus, we know more about how to protect ourselves, and I think the PGA TOUR have done an unbelievable job to get us back out on the course, to get us this far, to the playoff finale at the TOUR Championship, and keep everyone safe at the same time.

That’s been the most important thing. The fact that of all the tests that have been administered on the PGA TOUR, there’s only been a handful of positives, I think that, if nothing else, is the biggest positive to take from all of this.

Really good guidelines were set in place at the start, and I think the players and everyone involved with the TOUR has really stepped up to make sure that those have been implemented, and you’re seeing the results of that by the 30 players here in Atlanta this week.

Source: ASAP Sports

Categories
Team Ireland

PGA Championship: Rory McIlroy after his second round

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 07: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland walks to the 18th green during the second round of the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park on August 07, 2020 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

JOHN DEVER: Good afternoon. Welcome back to the 2020 PGA Championship here at TPC Harding Park. Pleased to be joined by Rory McIlroy, who posted a second round 69. He is 1-under here at the 36-hole mark.

Rory, a lot of birdies today. One unfortunate hole. Overall how was your round today?

RORY McILROY: You know, better. I got off to the perfect start birdieing the first hole, and I hit some loose shots after that on 3, on 4, on 5, a bad drive. I think what turned it around, I hit a good drive on 7 and made birdie from there, and then made birdie on 8 and 9, the two toughest holes on the course. That gave me a nice little bit of momentum going into the back nine.

Then, you know, played the 10th hole well, and was feeling good, 3-under through 11, and then that 7 just sort of stopped me in my tracks a bit. From there, when you’re 3-under par, especially with the way the leaderboard is looking, you’re thinking, okay, get another couple and you’re right into this tournament going into the weekend and all of a sudden you make triple and you’re like, I just need to be here for the weekend. It went from thinking I’m right on the cusp of getting into contention to just making the cut.

I was happy how I responded after that 7 and made a birdie coming in and played pretty solid, and that’s all I could really ask of myself after that.

Q. On No. 3, your ball was stepped on?

RORY McILROY: Yeah.

Q. And you placed it and it was too good; you elected to place it down?

RORY McILROY: Yeah.

Q. What was your thinking there?

RORY McILROY: I just wouldn’t have felt comfortable. I placed it, and the rule is try to replicate the lie. No one really knew what the lie was, but if everyone is going around looking for it, it obviously wasn’t too good. So I placed it, I was like, that just doesn’t look right to me. So I just placed it down a little bit and sort of — yeah.

You know, at the end of the day, golf is a game of integrity and I never try to get away with anything out there. I’d rather be on the wrong end of the rules rather than on the right end because as golfers, that’s just what we believe.

Yeah, I would have felt pretty wrong if I had of taken a lie that was maybe a little better than what it was previously.

Q. I know 7 is going to leave a bad taste in your mouth, but that birdie run, does that give you confidence going into the weekend knowing you can flip it around that quickly?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, that was nice, especially the holes that I did birdie. 8 and 9, especially, I hit a really nice 4-iron into the 8th hole, and to make it through there is really good, and to birdie 9, as well, two really tough holes. I took care of the easier holes on the course. The first hole, you know, I birdied one of the par 5s, birdied 16 coming in.

So there is birdies out there, but as you saw on 12, you know, danger isn’t that far away, but it was nice to see some birdies because even last week at Memphis, there was a lot of pars, a lot of sort of not really getting on runs, and it was nice to get on a little run like that today.

Q. How bad was that lie on 12, and then from there what happened?

RORY McILROY: It wasn’t that — it didn’t look that bad. I’ve had worse this week, and been able to hit better shots from them.

So it was okay. If anything, I really tried to get on my left side with those shots, and usually the bad one squeezes right rather than goes left on me. So I’ve had a couple this week that have sort of squeezed out to the right, so I was maybe just guarding against that and clubface just turned over.

But that wasn’t really the problem. I mean, I guess taking 4 from over the back of that green, that was the real — that’s unacceptable, really, and that was really the cause of the 7.

But out of position off the tee. You miss — I’ve missed that fairway the last two days in a row and I’ve paid for it. I’ve played it in 4-over par.

Q. You’ve played with Tiger many times now. Is it a little easier to deal with without the commotion?

RORY McILROY: 100 percent. (Laughter.) It’s like, it’s so much easier.

Yeah, I’m happy to be drawn with him every week until fans come back.

But yeah, like you can see, even the 12th hole, the tee box there alongside the road, Tiger gets on the tee and everyone goes crazy and you have to wait for them to settle down. The fact that we don’t have to deal with that and the fact that he doesn’t have to deal with that every week is sort of nice.

But not saying — I still want crowds to come back and fans. It’s much better to play in front of them. But it does make it easier.

Q. Cameron Champ said earlier that he believed that Tony Finau was by far the longest driver on Tour. Wondering your take on the 10 or 12 statistically longest drivers went out to a range and really bashed away, who do you think is the longest?

RORY McILROY: I think it would be between Cameron and Tony. They have very easy speed. Even Cameron, I mean, Cameron has such easy speed. He doesn’t look like he even swings hard at it and the ball speed is up in the 190s. I think it’s between those two guys for sure.

I think there’s a couple guys on the Korn Ferry that might compete with them I’ve heard, but from who I’ve seen and who I’ve played with, I think that the two guys that have the most potential to hit it the furthest are Tony and Cameron.

Q. Given three decorated players in that group, all having their own travails, you, Justin and Tiger, what was the conversation like among you guys about how difficult, cold, windy and not as easy as maybe three great players like you could play at Harding Park?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, once Tiger and I got our tee shots off 18, I just gave him a look like, phew, glad that’s almost done.

It was tough out there. We all didn’t really have our best. We were grinding just to be here for the weekend. But thankfully all three of us made it to the weekend and we all have an opportunity to go out tomorrow and post a low one and get ourselves back in the tournament.

Source: ASAP Sports