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Highlights Tours

RBC Heritage: Rory McIlroy after making the Cut

Q. Rory, what was the difference between today and yesterday?
RORY McILROY: It was a little more comfortable off the tee, put the ball in play a little more, and then once you do that around this golf course, you’re going to give yourself chances. The greens are small, and you’re not hitting very long shots into the green.

Yeah, just giving myself chances to hit iron shots within birdie range and was able to convert a few. I played the easier holes better — you know, birdied the three par 5s, birdied the 9th, picked off a couple more. So just a solid day.

When I got myself out of position, I got myself back into position and relied on my short game to bail me out a few times on the back nine when I needed to, but overall just a much better day. I think, whenever you see — going out there this afternoon, I knew I needed at least 66. So having a number in your head definitely focuses your mind, and you know what you need to do.

Q. Did you hear about Nick Watney, and your reaction?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, he texted me actually because we had a chat on the putting green before I went out to play.

Q. This morning?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, but we were at a distance. He was just saying, look, I hope I didn’t get too close to you. He feels badly that he was here today at the golf course. I said, look, it’s fine. You never know. So I said to him, if I was in your position, I probably would have been here too. Look, at this point, you just have to concentrate on getting better and getting healthy.

But, yeah, look, it sucks for him especially. You know, if you contract it, that’s fine, but then it’s the fact that who have you come into contact with, and who you might have exposed and stuff. Look, we’re still in the middle of a pandemic. Until this thing’s over, we all just have to stay vigilant and keep your distance and wear our masks if we’re going out in public and keep washing our hands.

Q. When did you get the text?
RORY McILROY: Well, as soon as I finished. Yeah, I looked at my phone, and there was a text from Nick. I think he just wanted to tell me personally instead of, obviously, having to read it through the news. So I appreciate that.

Q. Jordan was just here, and he said this was kind of a matter of when, not if.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, for sure, if you look at the statistics. I read a thing today that — look, by the end of the year, there’s going to be 200,000 deaths in the U.S. alone from COVID-19. So to think that us on the PGA TOUR, none of us were going to get it was very — I don’t think anyone thought that. I think the consensus was someone is going to get it at some point, and Nick’s the one that’s got it, and he’s self-isolating and doing what he has to do.

Yeah, it’s a shame, but the show goes on. We’ve got 36 holes to play at this tournament.

Q. Do you still have confidence in the program now?
RORY McILROY: Oh, yeah, for sure. Yeah, when I do the things I’m supposed to do and I’m at the tournament site, I feel very safe, yeah.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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PGA Tour Top Tours

PGA Tour: Rory McIlroy interview before RBC Heritage

Rory McIlroy talks to the media prior to the start of the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage in Hilton Head Island.

Rory McIlroy talks with the media before the RBC Heritage (PGA Tour)

THE MODERATOR: We’ll go ahead and get started with Rory McIlroy at the 2020 RBC Heritage. Rory, you’re making your first start at Harbour Town since 2009. How does it feel to be back?

RORY McILROY: It feels good to be back. Yeah, it seems like a lifetime ago that I was here last, week after my first Masters in ’09.

Yeah, I’ve watched it a lot on TV over the years, and you sort of know all the signature holes, I guess, but there was a few holes — I played a few holes yesterday, and there was a couple on the front nine that I didn’t really recall, and then I’m going to go right after here and play the back nine. There’s a couple on that side that I sort of need to get familiar with again. But, yeah, it’s good to be back.

Look, it’s a different schedule. I played Colonial for the first time last week, playing here for the first time in 11 years. But, yeah, excited to just be able to play golf tournaments again and get back at it. Excited for a great week.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll take some questions from the media.

Q. Rory, I got a couple for you. What did you experience last week as far as dealing with the COVID-19 that will help you go forward this week?
RORY McILROY: I don’t know, I think the first couple days last week in Colonial felt somewhat normal. I mean, I think Thursday, Friday — you know, it felt a little different over the weekend, like when we were in contention, in materials of it was very quiet and obviously not much atmosphere out there. But in terms of like dealing with it and dealing with the daily routine of temperature checks and all that sort of stuff, it’s totally fine.

I think the plans that are in place are very, very good. I’m sure everyone’s doing their best. I certainly don’t want to expose myself and test positive and put anyone else in danger, but also, selfishly, I don’t want to test positive because I want to keep playing golf, I want to keep playing in these tournaments. So I’m trying to do everything I can to limit my exposure and obviously not catch or spread the virus.

Q. And I’ll ask another question I’ve asked of everybody. Would you gain 30 to 35 pounds to gain 20 miles per hour ball speed?
RORY McILROY: No. I actually feel my best when I’m lighter. I was probably at my lightest at the start of the season, sort of that California swing, at Torrey Pines. I remember weighing myself at Torrey on the Sunday morning before going out to the final round, and I was like 155. I think that’s half of Bryson now.

Yeah, I feel better when I’m lighter. I feel more supple. I feel like I get a little more speed. Yeah, I don’t feel great when I gain weight.

Q. The restart, obviously, has been trickier for the Europe-based players for all the logistical reasons that everyone knows. Do you appreciate their play? And what do you think of their losing World Golf Ranking points as they try to figure out how to navigate this new normal?
RORY McILROY: Look, personally, I — if I were in their shoes and I was asked to come over to the states and shelter in place or quarantine for two weeks before these tournaments, I would have done that because we’ve got — I mean, if you really care about your career and care about moving forward, you should be here, I think. Last week was 70 World Ranking points for the winner, this week 74.

And I get there’s different variables and families and stuff involved, but we all have the means to rent a very nice house in a gated community in Florida and — you know, it’s not a hardship for two weeks to come over and quarantine. I mean, it’s fine. My caddie Harry came over and did it. He stayed in our guest house. The two weeks flew by.

Yeah, I honestly don’t understand the guys complaining because there is a solution to it. You can come over here and do what needs to be done.

Q. A quick follow. One of your Ryder Cup teammates said the problem is a three week — if you come over for three weeks, it amounts to a nine-week block because you have to quarantine two weeks, then if you were to go home, it’s two weeks, then when you come back, it’s two weeks. So if you have young children or whatever, that’s the trick, I guess. Do you appreciate that dilemma?
RORY McILROY: I do appreciate that, but it’s not as if — you know, most kids, it’s sort of the end of the school year. I know a few kids that went back to school. Again, you can bring your family with you. We all have the means to do that.

Look I don’t quite — it might seem a little harsh, but I don’t get that mindset, especially if you care about your career and you want to advance.

Q. I was going to ask you, what’s sort of been the practice arrangements and accommodation arrangements this week between you and Harry? I guess you and Harry, as you mentioned last week, shared a house in Fort Worth, and you had a downstairs basement with his sort of golf driving simulator. What’s the arrangement this week, and who are you sort of practicing with this week?
RORY McILROY: Same thing. So Harry and I are sharing a house. We’ve obviously spent the last, whatever it is, 3 1/2 weeks together. So, obviously, we’re — we get tested, and we’re both negative. I feel like it’s a safe option. So just Harry and I sharing a house again this week.

Then practice-wise, I haven’t really — I played nine holes yesterday, and I joined Jhonattan Vegas and Emiliano Grillo and Branden Grace, but I’m going to go play nine holes later today, but I haven’t arranged anything. It’s sometimes nice just to get out there on your own, especially if you want to see a new golf course that you haven’t seen in a while, just to sort of go about your business with your caddie and learn a few things about the course.

Q. Hi, Rory. Obviously, you’ve been in a position to win a few times this year and have had a disappointing Sunday. At what point do you sort of dismiss — like last Sunday, for example — as just one of those days, and at what point does it sort of become a thing in the back of your head that you’re aware of?
RORY McILROY: I wouldn’t say that Sundays this year have been disappointing. I mean, I played — maybe Bay Hill, I would say was disappointing, and obviously last week, but that was just more annoying, like I played crap. That was really it. Like it wasn’t as if it was anything to do with the position I was in or I got off to a really bad start and got into the rough on the front nine and hit decent shots that ended up in a bunker or a bad lie or whatever and just sort of — it’s one of those things where the momentum just started going the other way.

No, look, it’s fine. I played okay last week. It was a good gauge to see where I was at and what I needed to practice and what I needed to do going into the next few weeks. Obviously disappointing not to shoot a good one on Sunday, but it was fine. I learnt quite a bit from it, and hopefully those lessons I can put into practice this week.

Q. Nick Faldo said in the commentary that it doesn’t look like you’ve got a plan when things are going wrong. Were you made aware of that comment afterwards, and do you think that’s an unfair comment?
RORY McILROY: I didn’t hear that, no. Look, commentators are put in positions where, look, they have to say something. They’re not just going to sit there and be silent. I respect Nick a lot. Nick’s been really good to me growing up, as a junior golfer and even into the professional level. Look, I get the position he’s put in with commentary where you just have to say something, you have to make a comment. I’ve learned very quickly out here that you don’t take anything personally and you just move on.

Q. Rory, you’ve had kind of two weeks now to get used to this new normal at tournament sites, but you guys are creatures of habit. What’s been the one thing that you’ve had to switch up that’s maybe been the most different for you?
RORY McILROY: Honestly, there hasn’t been that much. I mean, there hasn’t really been anything that has been that different. I sort of like it. It’s quiet. You can get from A to B and not get stopped 20 times. It’s sort of — look, we all miss the fans, and the fans make the atmosphere, but at the same time, it’s sort of nice to be able to just go about your business and not have to worry about something that should take five minutes, having to give yourself 15 or 20 minutes to do just because of just getting from A to B. You know what it’s like at tournaments and stuff.

I haven’t really switched up that much. There hasn’t been anything that I would say that I would change. It’s sort of been nice.

Q. I just wanted to ask about Bryson. You played with him on Sunday. What was that like? Were you expecting that? Did you expect to see that transformation? Was it much different to what you saw from him before?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I mean, obviously, at the start of the year, he came out, and he was a bit bigger. You could see he was getting a bit of speed and stuff, and he was hitting it a long way. But he hit a couple drives on Sunday that Harry and I just looked at each other, and we’re like, holy shit, that was unbelievable.

He hit one into the wind on 11. I hit a really good one and probably hit it like 315, 320. He must have flew my ball by 40 yards. He hit it like 370, 375 into the wind. It was crazy. It was nuts. It’s unbelievable.

I mean, it’s impressive what he’s doing. There’s going to be courses where it works, and there’s going to be courses where it won’t. I can’t see him hitting that many drivers this week, for example. But, look, he nearly won on Colonial, but Colonial you can always miss it on one side. It’s not as if — I feel like Colonial, there’s maybe only trouble on one side of the hole a lot of times, where obviously somewhere like here, Hilton Head, you’ve got trouble on both sides. So there’s not really a bailout anywhere, where it felt like last week you could sort of — even though Colonial is a traditional golf course, there is always one side you could miss it if you wanted to hit driver.

Look, it’s impressive. He’s big. He’s sort of gone down a path, and he’s obviously very — he’s got a conviction, and he’s following it. That’s what he’s done. He’s always thought outside the box and thought a little differently to most people. He’s really put his mind at wanting to get longer, and he’s definitely done that.

Q. Is there no doubt that he’s the longest now, do you think?
RORY McILROY: I’d still say Cameron Champ. It seems with Cameron, it’s a lot more — it’s smoother speed. It’s not quite as much of an effort as Bryson’s putting into it. But he’s getting there.

Q. Just kind of curious, back to the Sunday thing for you. When you are in contention on Sunday, which you put yourself there so often, what’s different for you that day? Is the adrenaline running a little bit more? I don’t know how much you analyze that kind of thing, but I’m just curious, what is different for you on that Sunday for those final 18 holes?
RORY McILROY: Nothing, I don’t think. There shouldn’t be anything different, I guess. Yeah, no, I — geez, you’re going out there trying to shoot a good score, and that’s about it. That’s what you try to do every day. Some days you play better than others. Geez, I remember going into the — like everyone kept asking me about Fridays six years ago in 2014 when I had bad Fridays. Geez, a few Fridays in a row where I didn’t play well. I don’t think it’s this thing.

So, no, I try to go out there every day and shoot the best score I can, and the best score I could shoot on Sunday was 74. Hopefully, tomorrow I go out and try my best and shoot something a bit lower than that. Just each day, just try to go out there and do your best.

Q. Does it become more disappointing when the one bad round is on a Sunday? Or could you make the argument, if you had that bad round, if you shoot the 74 on Friday, maybe you’re not in position for Sunday, right?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I mean, not really. Like every day’s the same. Again, I always say winning is — there’s a lot of randomness to winning golf tournament as. It’s not just about — like there’s other things that happen, and you looked at what happened on Sunday. There’s so many guys in contention. Putts slip out. Putts slip in. Like there’s so much stuff that happens. You just have to go out there and focus on yourself and, again, try to shoot good scores.

It’s not like I’ve necessarily shot bad scores on Sundays. I got off to a couple of bad starts in some final groups, but I still was able to come back and shoot scores in the 60s. So, no, I’m not worried about anything.

Q. Just one quick unrelated thing, with a little bit of a weird silver lining to these last — these first four tournaments, to some degree, is the fact that all of you guys are obviously jonesing for the competition, and the fields have become so strong to some of these tournaments that normally don’t draw the kinds of fields they’re drawing right now. How much do you think that helps you even — you and everybody else, particularly the top guys — when most of the big guys are there? It has a little bit of a — at least in terms of the feel, the Major Championship feel?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it does. It feels great to look down the range and see all of the top players in the world here, or most of the top players in the world here. That is, it’s a good feeling. That’s what we all want. We all want to play against the best fields week in, week out. I guess, as you said, it’s silver lining to all this is that it seems like all the top guys are going to play a little more often going forward, and that’s a good thing for the TOUR and for us and for the people at home that are watching.

Q. Rory, no positive tests last week. Apparently, that’s going to be the case again this week. What do you make of that? What were your expectations? Any worries about complacency going forward?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think, as the lockdowns start to lift — people have called it like this coronavirus fatigue or whatever, where people could become a little more complacent or sloppy, but, again, I think — you know, most guys out here, their careers really matter to them, and they’re going to do everything they can to make sure that they’re safe and the people that they’re coming in contact with are safe.

Again, it doesn’t surprise me because I feel like the plan has put in place here has been very good. So, yeah, it’s great to hear that two weeks in a row there’s no positive tests. That’s what we just have to keep doing, but like as I said, just because things are starting to lift and it’s getting a little more normal doesn’t mean that we just stop doing what we’ve been doing over the last 12 weeks. We still need to stay pretty vigilant.

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PGA Tour

Charles Schwab Challenge: Interview with Rory McIlroy after the second round

The world number one Rory McIlroy tees up at the Charles Schwab Challenge for the first time since the corona-related break. In the interview after his second round, he talks to Asap Sports about the feeling of playing in front of empty ranks, his performance and the field at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

Rory McIlroy in an interview with Asap Sports:

After 36 holes, are things starting to feel more normal for you?

Rory McIlroy: Yeah, I mean, I think even yesterday, once we sort of got into the flow of the round, things started to become more normal. When that first birdie putt went in and I didn’t get a clap, I was sort of — like my hand was trying to go up to wave to someone in the gallery, but there’s obviously no one there. But once you get into it, it’s the same. We’re trying to go out there and play the best golf we can. Look, I’d love there to be fans here this week. I think this tournament deserves to be fans considering the field that’s been assembled, but hopefully we can get back to playing in front of some big crowds soon. But it felt as normal as it can, I guess.

When you look at the field and see that a lot of the top players are at the top of the leaderboard, what does that make you think?

Rory McIlroy: I guess I feel like this is always — from watching from afar, this is a golf course that’s always let the best players rise to the top. You have to be in complete control of your game, hit fairways, hit greens, convert some putts, and yeah, the leaderboard is a who’s-who of golf right now. I’m just happy to be in the mix.

When you reflect back on the interruption, you came into the season, into the year playing strong, had that long layoff. Are you surprised, not at all surprised by you coming out and playing so well?

Rory McIlroy: You know, I learned a lot about my game yesterday just through 18 holes, and you can do as much practice as you want and play as much as you want at home, but until you actually get into that competitive environment, you’re never 100 percent sure of how your game is. So I learnt a lot yesterday, and I feel like I made some improvements today on yesterday and learnt a few things. So no, not surprised. I’ve been playing well at home and I’ve been hitting the ball the way I’ve wanted to, just a matter of getting it to translate out on to tournament play, and it’s nice that it has.

Yesterday you mentioned your distance control was off with your wedges. What was the turnaround today?

Rory McIlroy: Actually the rental home we’re staying in this week has a simulator in the basement, and I’ve actually hit a few balls in there last night, and that helped. So obviously I didn’t — it’s hot here; you don’t want to take too much energy out of yourself. But the fact that where we’re staying has a simulator and you can hit some shots into the — I guess get some numbers, I just needed to sort of dial them in a little bit. Did that last night, and seemed to help this morning.

You had six birdies and an eagle; just overall an assessment of your round today?

Rory McIlroy: Yeah, it was really good. I felt like I built my score really well. I took advantage of some of the easier holes. I played conservatively on some of the tougher ones, especially 3, 4 and 5, the horrible horseshoe. I made three of my pars there and moved on and then birdied the next two holes. Just smart, played to my strengths, put it in play and gave myself plenty of chances. I felt pretty comfortable out there, and hopefully I can do the exact same thing over the next two days.

Interview from Asap Sports

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PGA Tour

Rory McIlroy: “Back to work. I’m excited.”

THE MODERATOR: We’ll get started with Rory McIlroy at the Charles Schwab Challenge. With the TOUR being off for three months after the cancellation of THE PLAYERS Championship, could you fill us in on what you’ve been up to and your excitement level to get started back up this week?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, back to work. I’m excited. I’m excited to be back on the road and doing what I’m supposed to do, play golf and compete. I think that’s the one thing I’m looking forward to the most and the one thing I’ve missed the most over the past few months is just the competition.

I think I sort of realized over the few weeks or like three months, I like golf and golf has given me a lot of great things, but the thing that I missed the most was the competition. Not that I could take or leave golf because I think once — I was very happy to put the clubs away for a few weeks, but once you sort of saw the light at the end of the tunnel and you knew what you were practicing for and getting up for and preparing for, that’s when you sort of start to get those feelings back again.

But yeah, what did I do? I tried to be as responsible as possible, like everyone else during the whole lockdown. Yeah, rode the bike a lot, did a lot of Peloton, did a lot of jigsaw puzzles, laid by the pool. It’s probably the most tanned my pasty Irish skin has ever been, so that’s been about it. I tried to sort of take a little bit of time off but then over the past few weeks sort of gear back up.

We played the charity match at Seminole a few weeks ago, and that sort of started my preparations back to where we’re at today.

THE MODERATOR: And as far as this week and the competition itself, you’ve won in tournament debuts before, most recently last year at the RBC Canadian Open. What are your impressions of the course as you begin to make your first start here?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, look, Colonial is a course that I’ve always wanted to come and play. I’ve watched it on TV over the years, and it’s just the schedule has never worked out. It always clashed with the BMW Wentworth tournament back on the European Tour, and I just never got a chance.

And then last year playing Canada for the first time, Memorial, Canada, U.S. Open, if I added here it would be four in a row. So the schedule never worked out that I could actually get here, and now that I can, I was excited to see the golf course and play it and try to learn it.

Obviously it’s not the longest course on TOUR, but you really need to position your ball around the golf course very well. It reminds me of a few different places. I can sort of see a little bit of TPC Southwind in Memphis out there, a little bit of Valderrama in Spain, just really having to hit it in certain parts of the fairways and not taking on too much.

Yeah, I mean, it’s a very historic venue, and a lot has happened here, and obviously Ben Hogan had a huge influence, so it’s been cool to come and see all that.

Q. I know you’ve played in the TaylorMade Relief match, but have there been any other matches that have tried to get you back up to speed? Is there anything specific you’ve done to try to get ready after three months off?


RORY McILROY: Not particularly. I think I’ve tried to play with a lot of the guys down in Jupiter. I played with DJ a bit, played with Rickie, played with J.T., played with Shane Lowry a bunch, as well, so I tried to play with really high-caliber players all the time and see where everything measures up against them and tried to get sharp by playing a few money games and things like that. No, that’s really been it. I sort of played a lot more than I practiced over the last few weeks, which has been nice because I sort of wanted to hit the ground running once I got here to Colonial, and I feel like my game is pretty sharp. It’s never going to be — nothing can compare to getting out there and playing under tournament conditions, but as far as I’m concerned, I’m as sharp as I can be coming in here, I guess.

Q. How frustrating has it been for you that this break came when it did, unlike in 2015, something completely out of your control, and can you just — how confident are you you can turn the tap back on again and pick up where you left off? Do you say to yourself, look, three months ago you were in the best player in the world, there’s no reason why you’re not still?


RORY McILROY: Yeah, there’s no reason why I’m not still. I’m not frustrated. I wasn’t frustrated at all. It’s not as if — I don’t feel I’ve been hard done by or anything. It actually gave me an opportunity to work on a few things. I spent 90 days in a row at home for the first time in my adult life. Didn’t get on a plane for three months. I did a lot of things that I didn’t imagine that — I never thought I would do for years.

I wouldn’t say I’m frustrated. I’m eager to get back and I’m eager to play and get back into competition mode, but I’m sort of — expectation-wise, we’ll see how it goes. As I said, I feel like I’m as sharp as I can be coming in here. I’ve played a lot of golf over the last few weeks and I’ve practiced a bit. My game seems to be there. It seems to be there at home anyway, so if it’s there at home, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be there when I get out here.

Yeah, as I said, I’m feeling as good as I can, but in terms of expectations and how I’m playing, I think the first couple of days here will be the real test, and I’ll learn a lot about myself and my game over those first couple days.

Q. How important do you think this week is just for the game of golf being able to step into the spotlight when other sports aren’t happening and to kind of demonstrate a sporting world with social distancing and so forth?


RORY McILROY: Yeah, that’s a very good point. I think this week is very important because golf will be the center of the sports world, which it usually a few weeks a year is, but for people to have something to watch on TV where they actually don’t know the outcome I think is going to be nice for them. So I think that’ll be a good thing.

And yeah, I think it’s an important week because golf can show that we can play in a socially distant manner. We can conduct a tournament and adhere to all the safety protocols that have been put in place.

Yeah, as long as everyone does their bit — I said in a previous interview, it is going to be very easy to fall back into old habits because it’s just what we’ve done. I’d say for the viewing public just to give the players and the caddies a little bit of leeway in terms of if they see something on TV that isn’t quite right. We’re having to figure it out as we go along, as well.

But I think golf can show that it can be played, especially at the highest level, and adhere to the guidelines that everyone else has to adhere to.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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European Tour PGA Tour

Before the “Re-Start”: A look at the world golf ranking and FedExCup

What is the current situation in the World Golf Ranking and the FedExCup? After a break of almost three months, the PGA Tour is back to a tournament. At the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, the professionals will meet to finally play again. With the re-start, players can also collect points for the world rankings and the FedExCup.

McIlroy at the top, chasers behind

The Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) was frozen for the time being after the tournament cancellations in March, but is now active again with the start of the Charles Schwab Challenge. This caused displeasure, especially in the camp of the European Tour, as it will not resume the tournament events until a few weeks later. Players see themselves at a disadvantage in order to collect important points for larger events and tournaments.

Rory McIlroy is still at the top of the world rankings. The Northern Irishman has a point average of 9,4474, which is calculated from the number of tournaments played and the points collected. At the end of last season, “Rors” made his goal clear with an announcement to Brooks Koepka, then number one. “I want to be number one in the world, I don’t care who holds it. This is on my radar and it’s definitely a goal of mine for next year.” Now the 31-year-old is going to do everything he can to defend that top spot.

Behind him are Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson in places 2-5. Th best Austrian, Bernd Wiesberger, has been in the top 30 since October 2019. Martin Kaymer, who like Wiesberger is not participating in the Charles Schwab Challenge, is 115th as the best German professional.

Youngster leads FedExCup

The FedExCup, the season ranking of the PGA Tour, will also be reactivated with the tournament on 11th June. Sungjae Im is currently leading the tournament with 1,458 points. The South Korean is just 22 years young and took his first victory on the American professional tour at the Honda Classic in March. Only one week later at the Arnold Palmer Invitational he snatched 3rd place.

Behind him there is Justin Thomas. The 27-year-old is at the front year after year due to his consistently good performance. In 2017 he already won the overall standings. He has also won two tournaments in the current season. In third place is the number one in the world: Rory McIlroy.

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Team Ireland

PGA Tour: Defending Champion Rory McIlroy Previews Title Defense Ahead The 2020 Players Championship

2019 Players Championship winner Rory McIlroy addresses the media prior to beginning his title defense at the 2020 edition at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

PGA Tour: Rory McIlroy talks Players Championship title defense prior to 11th start at the event

MICHAEL BALIKER: It’s a pleasure to welcome defending PLAYERS champion Rory McIlroy back to the interview room here at TPC Sawgrass. This is Rory’s 11th PLAYERS appearance here this week, six starts so far this season, finished top 5 in all six, and enters the week third in the FedExCup standings. Rory, just to start out, no one has ever successfully defended THE PLAYERS. You have an opportunity to make history this week. Talk about the challenge ahead here at Sawgrass.

RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I guess there’s — if there’s been no one to defend, it would be a nice time to start and have someone do that. But yeah, glad to be back.

Obviously this week last year was huge for me in terms of sort of getting the monkey off my back a little bit, and I had a few close calls, and I wasn’t able to sort of walk through the door and claim a win, and then I was able to do it here and went on to have a great year and won a few more times. You know, it’s nice to be back. I said this on Sunday at Bay Hill, a lot of similarities between this year and last year in terms of how I’ve played the first few events of the year, given myself some chances, haven’t quite been able to capitalize, and yeah, obviously would be wonderful to replicate what happened last year.

MICHAEL BALIKER: And then just very briefly on last year coming down the stretch, being able to close out that tournament on the last few holes, starting with the putt there on 15. Kind of take us through that briefly.

RORY MCILROY: Yeah, yeah, obviously it was sort of — holed a big putt on 12 for birdie and then another big putt on 15 after a great 6-iron. Yeah, I like big putts and I cannot lie (laughter), and I was happy to hole those two, and went on to win from there.

Q. You’ve talked a lot in the last year or so about concentrating on the process rather than the results, and I just wonder, you’ve been on such a great run this year with all these top 5s, at what point do you try to shift into more of a result mode, and how do you stave off being frustrated by fact that you’re crossing the line probably as much as you think you ought to?
RORY MCILROY: I don’t think you can ever go into result mode. I don’t think that works. I don’t think that helps anything. I think you just have to keep going about your business, doing your thing. I think the only way to not win is to concentrate on the results. So if I can just concentrate on what I’m doing and what I’m doing well, what I maybe need to improve on a little bit, just break the game down into different sections but really just try to make it as simple as possible, if I can do a few different things in my golf game just a little bit better, those thirds and fifths will hopefully turn into wins.

You know, I’ve had some really good success following this path that I’m on, and I’m just really trying to focus on doing the little things right, practicing good habits day in, day out, and if I keep doing those, then the byproduct is winning. Yeah, I definitely don’t feel like I’m too far away.

Q. Just on the no one has defended here, what’s your best guess as to why that might be, and do you look at it as, I guess, an opportunity?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, it is. It is an opportunity for sure. I don’t think you ever need an extra motivation when you come to this golf tournament, but to be the first one to defend here would be very cool.

And I think this golf course can play so differently day-to-day, depending on wind direction, conditions. You know, it is such a clich� here, but it really doesn’t suit any one style of play or any one type of player. Yeah, I don’t know. I’m sure there’s been people in the past that have had opportunities to maybe defend and have had their chances and finished well up there, but I don’t know, I’d love to give myself a chance. If I can keep playing the way I’ve been playing and get myself into contention on Sunday, it would be something extra to play for, which would be pretty cool.

Q. You just mentioned, obviously, that it can be different. You were the first winner going back to bringing this back to March. What were the big takeaways, the difference from May to March?
RORY MCILROY: So for me two big things were, off the tee, the course plays a lot longer in March than it does in May, so I was able to hit driver a lot more. The fairways are a little softer, so the course plays a touch wider. And then I think the other thing is having the rough overseeded around the greens, that was a big thing for me because I’ve always been more comfortable chipping out of that sort of overseeded rough rather than a pure Bermuda. Pure Bermuda, especially in May time here, it was sort of a hit and hope. It was a little bit of a guessing game around the greens, where at least nowadays, if you do miss a green — I said this last year and I said it about Jason Day, I played with Jason the final round last year, Jason has got a wonderful short game, and he can actually show what a wonderful short game he has in March here rather than in May, when if you miss greens, basically it’s a leveler of everyone, where in March the guys with the best short games and the best techniques can sort of rise to the top a little bit.

Q. You’ve mentioned that Pete Dye courses were a little bit of an acquired taste for you. I wonder was there a turning point where you started to feel a little bit more comfortable, could have been Kiawah in 2014 or could have been — you had three top 10s here in a row early on. When did you start turning the corner on that, and is there a hole out there that still kind of drives you nuts?
RORY MCILROY: So 2010 Whistling Straits was when I turned a corner. I turned up there, it was the PGA Championship, and I hated it. Like I really did not like it. I had to tell myself, look, you just need to like it for one week. Just get your head around liking this place for one week and embracing the fact that it’s different and the fact that it’s visually a little funky and whatever. I ended up finishing third that week and one shot out of a playoff, and I think that was when I sort of had turned a corner in terms of not necessarily loving Pete Dye golf courses because of — I think he’s a wonderful golf course designer, but I never liked how he made you feel on the golf course in terms of hiding things and angles, and it makes you a little bit uncomfortable, which is obviously his plan. Like he’s a wonderful designer of golf courses, but that was the week where I had to embrace what Pete tried to put into his golf courses.

Yeah, going on from there, winning at Kiawah, winning at Crooked Stick, winning here, I’ve started to quite like them. But as you said, an acquired taste. They’re like beer when you’re younger. You sort of don’t like it but then you think it’s cool to drink it and then you sort of acquire a taste for it.

Q. Is there a hole that still gives you the most trouble or maybe makes you think the most?
RORY MCILROY: The first hole. The first hole to me is — the fairway is over here, the tee box is over here, but the tee box is sort of parallel to the fairway, but you’re having to hit across — just angles and sort of — you’ve really just got to pick targets and be very specific with what you’re aiming at out here.

Q. You’ve had a lot of success here recently, but you actually missed your first three cuts here. What do you remember about your first impressions of this tournament, and I’m wondering what caused that change, whether it was more conservative or more aggressive strategy or just becoming a better player?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I think strategy was part of it. I was probably more stubborn back then than I am now and trying to overpower this golf course with a driver, when in May you couldn’t do that. The first time I played here, the weekend before I was in Vegas for a fight and then probably didn’t prepare the best way possible and missed the cut and ended up getting kicked out of bars in Jax Beach for having a fake ID. So I’ve come a long way. (Laughter.)

But yeah, I think just learning to play the golf course a little bit better, tempering my — whatever that is, willingness to hit driver all the time. At least now in March I can hit driver a little bit more, but I had to learn to play the golf course the right way when it was back in May.

Q. Going back to what you were saying about process and so forth, I’m curious, do you view — is there such a thing as a good top 5 or a bad top 5 in your view, and maybe if there’s an example one way or the other you can think of?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I mean, I’d say last week was a bad top 5. I took advantage of a good draw. I got out early on Thursday morning and shot 66 and then sort of hung on for the rest of the week. And then there’s other weeks where you just don’t have it at all, and you hang in there and hang in there and you sort of just — you struggle all week and you scrape it around in 70 or 69 or whatever it is for four days, and you end up finishing T5. I finished fifth at Torrey Pines last year, and I swear it was one of the best top 5s I’ve ever had. I walked away from that week just thinking I couldn’t have squeezed anything more out of my golf game for the week. So yeah, there are such things as good and bad top 5s, and last week was probably on the bad end of the spectrum.

Q. Jon Rahm was in here earlier talking about his maturation process from age 22 to where he is now at age 25. Three years ago when I asked you about his meltdown here at THE PLAYERS, you had said he’s going to be a generational talent, and when he can harness that passion that he has in a positive way, you’re going to start to see some really good results. Do you see that happening, starting to happen now for Jon?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, a hundred percent. I mean, I don’t — even before the last couple of years. I mean, as soon as Jon came out, he was contending to win big events and playing great and obviously won at Torrey Pines, won in Europe. I mean, I think we all have to go through that process. Some of us it takes longer than others. But Jon, I think everyone could see as soon as Jon turned — even before Jon turned pro when he was in college that he was — the TaylorMade guys tell a story that they basically thought they signed a top-10 player in the world coming out of college. I mean, just shows you how highly they thought of him then.

But yeah, he’s a wonderful player, and I think I said to you then, he can use his fieriness to his advantage, he just can’t let it get him down and get on top of him. But he seems to be harnessing it pretty well at the minute, and he’s not turned into a great player, because he always was a great player, but he’s a hell of a player.

Q. As a follow-up to that, you’ve done it, Brooks has done it, Jordan Spieth has done it. You win that first major and it seems to catapult a little bit into the second major, third major, fourth major. Could you see that happening with Jon once he gets over the hurdle of winning that first one?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I think it just gives you belief. It gives you belief that you can do it on the biggest stage, and I think, you know, you’re obviously playing well, and the majors are pretty — they come pretty soon after one another, so if you get that first one and you’re playing well, you get into that second one with a little more belief, and all of a sudden, boom, you’re right back in there and you believe you can do it.

Yeah, I think not just with Jon but with anyone. Once you get over that hurdle, it should make the second one a bit easier, and then on from there.

Q. Can you give us some details on the bet today and how nervous were you?
RORY MCILROY: My bet? Which one? There was two.

Q. Okay, both.
RORY MCILROY: There was one with — where’s George? There you go. He bet me 50 bucks that I couldn’t hit the green on 17, which was easy. That was an easy one. And then again, I have a bet with Harry every practice round about shooting a score, and yeah, Harry will be buying me dinner at some point this week. But yeah, my tee shot on 18 was a little too close to the water. But yeah, so I’ll be enjoying a nice steak on him at some point.

Q. A little bit off the beaten path here, there are some really impressive Peloton metrics floating around online, and the rumor is they belong to you. I believe the one I saw was a 955 output in a 45-minute ride. First, can you confirm that that was you, and please do or my story is completely ruined. And second, has cycling become a big part of your fitness and workout regimen?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, so that was me. But I think the bike was a little juiced. (Laughter).

So I did that the Monday after Riviera in the hotel I was saying at in Santa Monica. So, like my bike at home, I can sort of get on the Peloton, and I can sit in the saddle at like a 50 resistance at like 90 — like a 90 cadence and just sort of buying that out for 45 minutes or an hour, but 50 resistance on this bike felt really easy, so I sort of cranked it up. So I’d say that was a little juiced. But most of the ones are, on my Peloton user name or whatever, are pretty accurate. But yeah, I try to get them in sort of two or three times a week. I did one last night — and I’ve never really enjoyed doing cardio, like really never liked it, but since sort of learning about Peloton and doing it and sort of being a part of that whole community and stuff, I’ve started to enjoy it, and I enjoy the leaderboard aspect and the fact that it is competitive in some ways and you’re always trying to beat your last score. And it keeps me — it makes me earn my dinners and sort of keeps me sort of in decent shape. I’ve been enjoying it.

Q. I’ve been talking to a lot of players about you, and aside from their envy of your ability to drive the ball a long way and your iron play and all that, the one dominant theme that they have is that they like the way that you seem to be leading and being comfortable with leading. Do you understand what they mean? And are you indeed as comfortable as they think you are with leading?
RORY MCILROY: Well, if they looked at the leaderboard the last few weeks they’d say that’s not true.

Leading in terms of like —

Q. The game. Not on —
RORY MCILROY: I mean, I think at this point I think I have somewhat of a responsibility. Not just for myself but for the other players. I’ve been around the top of the game for a long time now, over a decade, and I think being at the age I am and being at the stage of life where — I am very — I’m a lot more comfortable in my own skin and in my own beliefs and values and convictions. So yeah, I have been outspoken about a number of issues in golf over the past couple years, and I’m happy about that, yeah. I’m not trying to lead so that people can — I’m not trying to set some sort of example, but I guess I want to be a voice out there that can at least put forth some good commentary and a decent opinion on things, and that’s what I try to do.

Q. Why are you so comfortable in your own skin now?
RORY MCILROY: I don’t know. I think just because I’ve learnt over the last few years that you’re not going to please everyone and you’re not going to — not everyone is going to like you. I think as you grow up, you sort of — I certainly had an ambition or you try to do things for people and you try to — I just basically learned no matter what you do, there’s some people that are going to like you and appreciate what you do, and there’s some people that you just won’t be able to please. I think I came to terms with that a few years ago and am definitely a lot more comfortable in my own skin because of it.

Q. I’ve been sitting here looking at this photo, very nice photo of you taking a peek over at 17. Take me through what you were thinking at that point and what was that moment like?
RORY MCILROY: It was nice because I just hit a 9-iron into the 16th and had a 12-foot eagle putt, so I was feeling pretty good about myself. I always take a peek at sort of the group in front and seeing what they’re doing or where they hit it into. Everyone knows where the hole location is on 17 here on Sunday, so it was just more having — there’s the two big boards there, as well, the two video boards, so looking at players’ reactions and sort of the shots that they’re hitting in.

Yeah, I wasn’t thinking much. At that point I think I was tied for the lead, or no, maybe I was one ahead and Furyk had maybe just birdied the last. But knew that if I could birdie 16 and par the last couple that I’d be able to win. Yeah, that was really it.

Q. The question about Rahm made me think what a help it must have been, you were 22, I think, when you won at Congressional. For you and for people like Justin and Jordan to have kind of knocked it out at an early age, was it helpful, do you think, looking back, as you contemplate questions about Rahm, when he’s going to win a major, Xander is going to fall into that, Rickie has been there for a few years. How much of a relief do you think it was?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I mean, it certainly is a relief whenever you can get one on the board early. It’s helpful. But I mean, you think of Phil didn’t win his first one until 33, 34, and it didn’t hinder him. I mean, he ended up winning five, and people could say should have, could have won more, but he’s still got a pretty impressive tally.

I don’t think the likes of a Jon or a Xander or whoever else is in that category of great young players that haven’t won one yet, my recommendation is not to let it affect you or listen to it. I mean, everyone is going to have chances, and it’s not as if you — we’re all just trying to beat each other out here at the end of the day, and at one point or another, all of us have beaten one or another out here. So it’s not — if you can sort of try to take the importance of the occasion out of it and the trophy and the history and all that stuff, they’ve done it before.

Q. There was also 10 years of Phil getting asked when, four times a year.
RORY MCILROY: Yeah.

Q. Wouldn’t that add to the difficulty do you think, or no?
RORY MCILROY: I mean, you’d have to ask them or you’d have to ask him. I mean, I get it every April, and it certainly doesn’t help things. But at least I only get it once a year, not four times a year.

But yeah, I mean, if you’ve had close calls — all those guys are good enough to win major championships. I would think it’s just a matter of time.

Q. We’ve got a question from a fan in China. Which hole is your favorite here at TPC Sawgrass and also on the 17th, how comfortable are you to avoid the water this week?
RORY MCILROY: My favorite hole, I’m a big fan of the new 12th hole here. I think they’ve done a good job with the redesign of that hole, risk-reward, you can go for the green, but if you miss it in the wrong spot, it can become very tricky. So I do like the 12th hole.

And yeah, I mean, look, I think the 17th is — if you surrounded that green with bunker or grass or whatever, it would be one of the easiest par-3s that we play all year, but because of the water, there’s just an extra element of difficulty to it. I think most guys are just trying to put it into the middle of the green. If you hit it close, that’s a bonus, but you walk away with four 3s there for the week, you’ve done pretty well.

Q. I heard last week called the ultimate in survival golf. As a fan of the game, how often do you like to see that, and what are your expectations for scoring this week?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, so obviously the last two tournaments have been very difficult, and obviously I live very close to PGA National and people say to me, why don’t you play this week, and I say, well, I don’t get to spend that many weeks at home, and when I do, I’d like to enjoy it.

I think the last couple tournaments have been tough. It’s been windy. The courses have got firm and fast, especially last week at Bay Hill.

And yeah, it’s a different style of golf, right. It’s more of a defensive mentality rather than an assertive, aggressive mentality of trying to go out and make birdies. You’re having to play a little bit of chess and you’re trying to put the ball in the right spot and hit it to 30 feet, two-putt, move to the next. It’s a little more methodical, sort of takes a little bit of the flair away from it, I guess.

But I think every so often, that’s a good thing. I think if every week was the same, it would be pretty boring, so I think to throw in weeks like last week, it keeps it interesting.

Q. What do you think this week?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, this week is not going to be like the last couple weeks. It’s still pretty soft out there. The greens have the potential to get firm if the weather forecast stays the way it is, but I can’t see the fairways getting overly bouncy and firm. It’ll be a little more sort of target golf, I guess, but it has the potential to get a little firm over the weekend and the greens to get a bit of speed. But I certainly don’t think you’re going to see single digits under par winning this week.

Q. How proud are you of 100 total weeks at No. 1? Can you fathom 683? And how will you treat this stint differently to the last one?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I’m very proud to think that I’ve spent two years of my career at the top of the World Rankings is a pretty nice feeling. 683 or whatever it is, I can’t fathom. I mean, it’s just — it’s unbelievable. I just don’t think anyone can speak highly enough of what Tiger did over that stretch of golf. It was just insane.

And I’m — this stretch now that I — the way I got to No. 1 this time was sort of anticlimactic — there wasn’t much of a fanfare. I got there through a mathematical algorithm more than anything else, but I still made sure to celebrate it and celebrate the milestone. I hadn’t been in this position for over four years, so on the Sunday night of Riviera, I went out and made sure to have a couple of drinks with Harry and a couple of my friends and sort of toast the fact that — especially for Harry, too, Harry took over that caddie position in the middle of 2017 and basically we’ve been on that journey together from sort of injuries and not playing my best all the way back to the top of the world. So it was important for me to sit down and have a few drinks with him and be like, you know, we’ve done this, this was our journey and we did it, two guys that grew up in Holywood, Northern Ireland, playing golf together, and that we’ve done this is something that was really cool.

Q. You said at the weekend that you wish you could have converted one of the recent top 5 finishes you’ve had coming into this week. Is there one thing that you can pinpoint that has held you back from crossing the finish line so far this year?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, just big numbers when I find myself in those positions. I made the triple bogey at Riviera early on Sunday, and I made the two double bogeys on the front nine last week. Just real untimely, poor shots. Not even poor shots but just — like Riviera was very firm, as well, and if you missed it in the wrong spots, it got tricky, and I feel like that’s what happened there and that’s what happened at Bay Hill, as well. Especially on the par-5 sixth hole on Sunday, I hit a decent drive but didn’t hold the fairway and tried to get the ball up as close as possible to the green so I had an easier third shot with the chip, and it went into the bunker and then I had a tricky shot. It was just — maybe playing the percentages a little more if I had have made sure to stay short of that minute on 5 at Riviera, I wouldn’t have brought 7 into play and then maybe staying short of that bunker on the 6th hole at Bay Hill last week, I wouldn’t have brought the water into play with my next. So just those little things.

When the courses are playing that firm and that fast, those are the tiny little margins that make the difference. Yeah, so maybe just sort of dialing it back that five percent instead of trying to play the perfect shot to hit my next from, being okay with the 80-yard shot into the par-5 or the 40-foot putt below the hole. They’re the things that make the difference, I guess.

Q. Did Fallon put you up to the whole “I like big putts” line, and second question, this is an Olympic year, and some of the courses that — you’re the reigning champion here, Augusta is Augusta, and then you’ve also won at Harding Park. How did you physically prepare yourself for this year and describe your process for getting ready for six straight months of marquee tournaments?
RORY MCILROY: No, Jimmy didn’t, no. I don’t think Jimmy even could have came up with that line. Yeah, I mean, preparing physically, I don’t think that’s the challenge for me. It’s more mentally preparing yourself for going back to defend here. I think the nice thing is going back to places that you’ve had success on before, coming back here, going back to Harding Park. You know, I think at this point in my career, I said earlier, I’ve spent over a decade in this position, so there’s not much that’s new to me anymore in the game of golf, but this year the Olympics will be. I’ve never got to experience anything like that, and that’s a really cool thing. 12 or 13 years into a professional career and you get to do something for the first time again, that’s pretty exciting.

MICHAEL BALIKER: And your relationship with Optum and having won this tournament last year, what did that mean from that perspective?

RORY MCILROY: It was certainly a nice way to kick the partnership off, that’s for sure. But yeah, it was — yeah, obviously Optum are a huge partner of the PGA TOUR and myself, and yeah, it was great to win in front of them and obviously kick off the relationship in style, and they threw me a nice little party at the end. Hopefully we can get together on Sunday night again and do the same thing.

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

March 11, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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Team Ireland

PGA Tour: Rory McIlroy Talks Coming Up Just Short Of a Victory Yet Again at Arnold Palmer Invitational

PGA Tour professional Rory McIlroy addresses the media following his final round 76 at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational in which he failed yet again to capture a victory but earns his 5th consecutive top 5 finish in 2020.

PGA Tour: Rory McIlroy earns fifth consecutive top five finish with final round 76 at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Q. Just some comments on the day and the conditions of the course over the weekend.
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I mean, obviously, tough weekend. I guess for me today two bad, two loose shots sort of cost me. The third shot on 6 and then the tee shot on 9. I made two doubles there. Obviously, played the rest of the holes in even par and if I hadn’t have done that I would have had a good chance. But, yeah, it was tough. Look, I stood up here yesterday saying that the key tomorrow was to keep the big numbers off your card and I made two of those today and that’s what cost me.

Q. Last year sort of similar situation. Afterwards you said, Hey, the great thing about golf is you get back on the horse and play again the next week and obviously that’s what happened, the next week you won?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, it’s very, there’s a lot of similarities between the start of this year and the start of last year. A lot of chances not converting, but knowing that the game’s pretty much there. So just keep knocking on the door and go up to Ponte Vedra tomorrow and work on a few things. And, yeah, get back at it again.

Q. Knowing what happened last year, being in a similar situation, does it almost make it easier or is it still very aggravating to you?
RORY MCILROY: I mean, it’s aggravating but at the same time like I just have to keep telling myself the game’s there. It’s not as if I’m walking off the course and — I didn’t have my best stuff again over the weekend, but neither did anyone in these really tough conditions. The two, I guess the two doubles that I made today sort of, I don’t know, it’s, I think if I am going to keep getting myself into contention like I am, I just need to sort of stop making those big numbers. And if I can do that, hopefully the course next week’s a little more benign, a few more chances, and sort of play the style of golf that I want to play. I was very defensive out there and that’s sort of what you had to do this week and hopefully next week we get a chance to be a little more aggressive.

Q. Seems like people expect you to win every week because you’re No. 1 in the world. Can you talk about the expectations of that and how hard it is to win out here?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I mean, I expect myself — I mean, I’m doing what I expect myself to do every week, which is giving myself a chance. I give myself a chance most weeks and the more weeks than not it’s not going to happen. That’s just the way golf is. I mean, I think my win percentage on TOUR is like 10 percent and I think that’s pretty high for anyone not being Tiger Woods. So, yeah, it’s one of those things. Like, I’ve had chances and I wish I had converted one of them over the last few weeks, but I’m still in good form. I’m playing some good golf. And hopefully if I just keep putting myself in those positions, it’s only a matter of time.

Q. How do the conditions compare today versus yesterday? Better? Worse?
RORY MCILROY: Similar. A different wind direction. I didn’t expect the wind to be up as much as it was. It was just as windy today as it was yesterday. The greens are firm, fairways are firm. So, yeah, I mean just a really tough weekend.

Q. What do you most need to improve upon before Augusta?
RORY MCILROY: Before Augusta? Driving it well. I mean, maybe just my mid-range putting, that’s sort of between 12 and 20 feet. I’m holing out — I missed a couple this week — but I’m holing out pretty well for the most part, but just giving myself a lot of chances between that sort of 12- and 20-foot range and not converting that many of them. So that’s pretty much it.

Q. You’re allowed to say nothing.
RORY MCILROY: No, no, there’s not nothing, there’s always something.

Q. Did you think the bunker shot at 6 was okay when you hit it?
RORY MCILROY: I did, yeah. Actually, it was okay, I played it the way I wanted to. It came out a little hot, but I thought, I thought it was still going to hang on to the back edge. Obviously just trickled over into the hazard, so…

Q. It’s a thin margin.
RORY MCILROY: It is, yeah. That’s the thing out here, it’s just very, very fine lines.

Orlando, Florida

March 8, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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Team Ireland

PGA Tour: Rory McIlroy Speaks With The Media Following Opening Round 66 at The Arnold Palmer Invitational

World number 1 Rory McIlroy addresses the Media following his opening round 66 at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational about slow start, course conditions and what to expect moving forward.

PGA Tour: World number 1 Rory McIlroy recaps opening round 66 at The Arnold Palmer Invitational, trailing leader Matt Every by 1 stroke

Q. Slow start. A couple unforced errors. What did you do to get it clicked in?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I think, looking back on the day, one of the biggest shots of the day was the key putt on 11. It started giving me a little bit of momentum. Obviously, it was an unforced error with the second shot. The missed putt on 12 was actually a decent putt. I just got a little complacent with it. I thought it was straight in and it broke left. But then after that, the birdie on 16 to get back to even, the birdie on 18 to get, turn in 1-under. And then I started to get going, hit some really good shots on the way in and took advantage of the par-5s and did everything pretty well for about the last 12 or 13 holes.

Q. Knowing you got the good end of the draw, the wind’s going to continue to pick up, is there any extra added pressure to try to get good rounds, good score in, good birdies?
RORY MCILROY: I mean, sort of. I think it was more I, when I was 1-over par I looked at the board and Sam Burns was already like 6-under, so I was like, Geez, I got to do something here. I got to get going. But then, yeah, I think this course is all about staying patient. If you can play the par-5s well, you should be there at the end of the week.

Q. So a lot of the wind — a lot of wind out here. Do you like to practice in the wind or are you going to shut it down?
RORY MCILROY: No, I’ll shut it down. I don’t think there’s any point. It’s hot as well. It’s getting hot. And I’ll just rest up and maybe go to the Magic Kingdom and then get ready for tomorrow.

Q. 1-over par after 6, 7-under thereafter. What changed?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I don’t know. I made a couple unforced errors starting off. I hit it in the water on 11. Actually made a good bogey in the end, holed a good putt for bogey. And then I missed the little one on 12. I think with the start and then turning in under par, birdieing 16, birdieing 18, sort of had a bit of a good pep in my step going into the first tee and then I played some great golf after that. I hit two great shots into 1, the shots into 2, holed a good eagle putt on 4. I got a bit of momentum and I kept it going until the end.

Q. I was looking through your highlights and it jumped out to me, the shot from the bunker on the 4th, talk us through the detail, because it looked a bit special.
RORY MCILROY: Harry said that’s the best shot I’ve hit all year, so, you know, high praise from him. Yeah, I had 260. It was in between 3-iron and 5-wood and I sort of — 5-wood was going to carry up on top, but it had a chance to go over the back of the green and that chip from over the back to that back pin is really tricky. So I said to Harry, If I can catch this 3-iron good and maybe pitch 10 or 15 short, maybe trundle up the hill. But short was always better than long. And it just came out perfectly and got up to pin high. And yeah, it was good to convert on that and make eagle.

Q. Finally, Radar was walking around here yesterday and he actually says, Rory turns up and it’s, like, is it going to be 3-under, 4-under, or more when he goes out and plays. Tiger, in his prime used to say that par almost seemed like a 68. With how you’re playing now and the consistency, do you set a different par for yourself when you’re going out, even on a course like this?
RORY MCILROY: No, I mean, I think — so, for Bay Hill I, think this course has always been about the par-5s. If you can play the par-5s well, you can play the rest of the course pretty conservatively and pick your spots. I mean, you’re hitting irons off a lot of tees here, but if you can play the par-5s well — I mean, that’s what — Tiger’s won here seven or eight times, whatever it is, he killed the par-5s. He then could pick and choose where he was going to be aggressive. And just sort of trying to follow that plan because it worked pretty well for him.

Q. Slow start today. 1-over through the first 6, but you end up shooting 66. Talk about how you played and what turned it around for you early.
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, as I said over there, I think one of the biggest or best shots that I hit today was my bogey putt on 11. I hit it in the water and then hit a very mediocre chip shot. But to hole that putt for bogey, you know, it’s not — making 5 instead of 6 there is a big deal. I didn’t convert with making a birdie at the next, but 1-over through 2 instead of 2-over is sort of a different feeling. And to turn that nine around and turn in 1-under par, I sort of felt pretty good about myself going to the front nine. And then I had some really good shots coming in. Drove it really well. I worked a little bit on my driving over the last few days. I didn’t think it was quite up to par over the first three tournaments of the year. So I think I only missed one or two fairways today, and if you can do that around this place, especially with how juicy the rough is, you’re going to give yourself a lot of chances.

Q. I was going to ask you about the course conditions. They were telling us over 13 on the Stimpmeter on the greens. Is that what it felt like?
RORY MCILROY: No, I mean, I think they have taken it easy with the greens today, expecting the wind this afternoon. So I actually struggled to get the ball to the hole this morning. But then as they started to dry out, as we went on then, you could feel them, you could definitely feel the aprons getting a little bit firmer, the fairways, you know, the greens are getting a little crusty out there. And if the wind continues to whip the way it’s, the way it is, it will be a tough afternoon for those guys.

Q. How did you hit it into the water on 11? Was it turning?
RORY MCILROY: Turned it, yeah. I was trying to — I was forcing an 8-iron to try and get back there and turned it and pitched, obviously, over the hazard line. And I could have nearly played it. It was sort of, the ball was half in, half out, try to sort of do a Bill Haas spectacular whatever, but I decided against it.

Q. (No Microphone.)
RORY MCILROY: Definitely playing a bit better than I was playing in Mexico. Putting better. Driving it better. I think the course suits me a little bit better as well. So Mexico was frustrating because I started well and then just couldn’t get the best out of myself for the final three days, where I’m a little more comfortable on this golf course, comfortable with this style of play, and a little more comfortable on greens.

Q. (No Microphone.)
RORY MCILROY: I hit 3-iron out of there. I was between 3-iron and 5-wood and if anything, I wanted to err on the short side rather than the long side because of where the pin was. So it was one of those ones where it wasn’t, I never really expected it to get on the green. I thought maybe just like 5 or 10 short, chip it up close and make birdie, but it worked out perfectly and it was nice to convert that one.

Q. Going back to Mexico, are you still at a point in your career where you learn something from getting off to a first-round lead and not being able to close? If so, what did you learn two weeks ago?
RORY MCILROY: I mean, 54 holes is still a long way to go. I mean, even — I mean, you sort of take it one day at a time. It’s not as if I played badly in Mexico. I shot 69, 68, 68 the last three days. I just didn’t get as much out of myself that I wanted to. But, yeah, I mean, it’s always — I mean, if you do shoot a good one, you know it’s in there, you know you’re playing well, so you just got to try to keep it going.

Q. (No Microphone.)
RORY MCILROY: Not for public discussion.

Q. Can you feel Arnold Palmer’s presence on the grounds here?
RORY MCILROY: There’s so many nice little traditions here. Obviously, behind us here on the range. Still having to take your hat off when you walk into the clubhouse, that’s something that I really like. Eating breakfast this morning and saw a couple of people that were asked to take their hat off as they walked in. That’s nice. I think that’s a really nice thing. And to see Amy around and Sam and Roy and some of the family still. He meant an awful lot to the game, an awful lot to this community. And I didn’t play it for the first sort of few years of my career, but once I did, I realized that it’s a pretty special place and one that I want to try to come back to each and every year.

Q. How special was it for you to wear that red cardigan for the first time?
RORY MCILROY: It was special. It was warm. Alpaca isn’t as comfortable as you think. But it was nice. I mean, for me at that point just to, just to win a tournament again, it was 520-whatever days, and so I think just the, I don’t know, the joy in winning again was really, really special. You could have given me a neon cardigan and I would have worn it all the way home.

Q. Where do you keep it?
RORY MCILROY: I keep it in my wardrobe.

Q. The play on 18, did that at all set you up for the front nine?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, that was, I think the two shots I hit into 16, the shot I hit into 17, and the two shots I hit into 18 gave me a lot of confidence going into the front side. I hit a drive and a 5-iron into 16. Hit it right into the heart of the green. Good shot. Hit a good 6-iron on 17 the way I wanted to. And then 3-wood, 9-iron on 18. Yeah, so it’s shots that you got to stand up and make good swings.

Q. (No Microphone.)
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, of course. Again, like, 1-over through 6, there’s still 66 holes left in this golf tournament. I mean, it’s so fine that even now it doesn’t mean anything. I’ve shot a good score and it’s great that I’ve done it on the good end of the draw. I feel like I’ve gotten pretty fortunate that I’ve got that draw this week. So it’s just nice to take advantage of it this morning and tomorrow’s a new day and we’ll see how that goes.

Orlando, Florida

March 5, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Categories
Team Ireland

PGA Tour: Rory McIlroy Talks to Media About 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Preparations

Current World number 1 Rory McIlroy speaks to the media ahead of his start at the Arnold Palmer Invitational about what it means to be number 1, the Olympic games, and Master’s Preparations.

PGA Tour: Rory McIlroy talks Arnold Palmer Invitational

THE MODERATOR: Welcome back to the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2020. Just some thoughts on being back here as the No. 1 player in the world.

RORY MCILROY: Yeah, sort of feel like this was the start if sort of like a two-year journey to get back to this point. I came here two years ago off the back of a missed cut in Tampa and sort of a little lost with my game, especially a little lost with my putting and spent an afternoon with Brad Faxon at the Bear’s Club and then came up here and, obviously, something stuck with me from that afternoon and was able to win and that was my first win in 500-whatever days. So I feel like this place is a lot of special memories to me. It was definitely the catalyst to sort of do what I’ve done over the past two years and ascend back to the top of the World Rankings.

So good to be back. Course is in phenomenal shape. It’s as good as I’ve seen it. It’s nice to get back on Bermuda greens after the few weeks that I’ve started off on the poa annua. So, yeah, everything’s good and game feels in good shape and looking forward to getting going.

THE MODERATOR: Okay. We’ll take some questions.

Q. How much do you use ShotLink data for your course management, how they change what you do or affect anything about going about it?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I use them a lot. All of the, it’s one thing I keep harping on about to the TOUR is actually how ShotLink data on every round that we play, like North Course at Torrey Pines doesn’t have it, the other three courses at Pebble when we play there doesn’t have it. I think a lot of the guys are starting to use ShotLink data to, it’s course management, but it’s also how you practice. So I got a stats report last week after the three weeks that I’ve had at Torrey Pines, at Riviera, and Mexico, and that’s what I base my practice off going into the next few weeks. My bunker play wasn’t up to the same standards it needed to be. I needed to get better from 6 to 12 feet. It’s stuff that you sort of know anyway, but it’s nice when you have that objective data in front of you. So I use it for a lot of different things. It is very important.

Q. With specific reference to the Olympics, are you relaxed about it, how do you get enough information, something you’re going to keep an eye on —
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, it’s something that we’re trying to stay on top of. I mean, it’s something that if the organizers and the Olympic Committee believe it’s safe enough that athletes can go and compete in the games, then you have to take their word for it and you have to, they’re obviously liaising with the people that are the best at doing this, whether it’s the CDC in this country, whether it’s the World Health Organization, whatever it is. If they’re speaking to those people and those people are the best in their field, then you have to trust that their judgment is the right one.

Q. Based on the conditions out there right now, what kind of tournament do you expect to see this weekend?
RORY MCILROY: I mean, conditions right now, the golf course is playing very nicely. The rough’s pretty thick. If you start missing it in the rough, you can make life a bit difficult for yourself. I think they’re expecting a lot of wind tomorrow afternoon, so the scoring might be tough, a little tougher tomorrow than we have seen in the past. But it looks like the conditions are going to be good over the weekend.

So it’s an exciting golf course. There’s four par-5s. I think people can get it going around here and shoot some low scores. So I don’t see any, I think Francesco shot 64 to win last year. I shot 64 the year before to win. So I would say you would see something similar. There’s going to be a lot of people in with a chance and someone’s going to go pretty low over the weekend.

Q. Just watching everybody out there, like, asking for autographs and pictures and things, I’m curious how much of a challenge it is to you how you sort of divide your time and energy to figure out how to deal with it all, when to say no, when to say yes.
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, Wednesdays are pretty hard to concentrate at times because you’re trying to find that balance between treating it like a practice round as well and trying to get something out of the day instead of just being a host for your amateurs and sort of trying to get them around. So I always try to play a game with Harry, my caddie. He sets me a score to shoot that day and says, right, If you shoot 4-under or better I’ll buy you dinner and if you don’t get to that, you have to buy me dinner. And that’s, we do that every Wednesday and it just, it keeps me concentrating on every shot and over every putt and it’s something that I need to do because as you see out there it’s very easy to get distracted and talk to people and basically hit the ball everywhere. So it just keeps me sort of on the straight and narrow.

Q. How did you do today?
RORY MCILROY: I lost by one shot. The target was 4-under. I shot 3-under even with birdieing the last.

Q. When you talk about the two-year journey kind of started here, do you think you’ve grown more from a game perspective or from a mental perspective over those two years?
RORY MCILROY: Mental more than the game. I mean, I think I’m more, I have done things in the game previous to two years ago that were maybe higher than what I’ve done the past couple of years. But from a mental perspective the consistency and showing up every week even when I don’t have my best stuff I’m able to still get in the mix and have a shot at winning tournaments. So mentally over these last few years I’ve definitely gotten better and, yeah, more stability in my life, there’s a lot of different things that go into it, but, yeah, just a lot more comfortable with where everything is.

Q. When you talk about gearing up for the Masters, when does that start and what does it mean?
RORY MCILROY: Honestly, I don’t know when it starts. For some people it starts the Monday they arrive at Augusta. For some people it started in January. I think it’s different for everyone. For me what I realized is I can’t make things too big in my head. So if I started to gear up for Augusta in January, by the time Augusta got around in April my head would be absolutely fried. So I try to push it out as late as possible. I’ve got four tournaments to play between now and then and my biggest concern and my top priority are those four tournaments.

Q. What I’m talking about gearing up, does that mean working on certain shots you are going to need or does that mean getting your game in peak form?
RORY MCILROY: I don’t think anything trumps execution in this game, so it’s just getting your game in good form. Playing enough competitive rounds, getting the — yeah, just shooting good scores, seeing shots. I’m not particularly — like it’s not as if I’m out on the golf course on the, you know, whatever hole here thinking, okay, this is the 5th hole at Augusta, this is the tee shot I need. I mean, some guys might do that, I’m not sure, but for me if I’m playing good golf that’s the most important thing.

Q. You’ve been forthright in talking about the Premier League and also saying —
RORY MCILROY: Football or golf? (Laughing.)

Q. If nothing else maybe it leads to some changes structural and otherwise on the PGA TOUR. What would you have in mind?
RORY MCILROY: I mean, I don’t want to come across as all sort of elitist, but I think there is a some smaller fields, maybe a few more events with no cuts, maybe not necessarily — if you look at the international properties that the PGA TOUR have started to go towards, like Korea, Japan, 70-player fields, no cuts. That’s the sort of stuff where you’re giving the — and honestly, there’s so many — I mean I get playing opportunities — there’s so many tournaments and there might be an over saturation in golf in a way. You look at the NFL and they play 18 games a year, 20 games a year max and people want it all the time. I know football’s different than golf and all that, but I think being a golf fan these days can get quite exhausting following so many different tournaments, different tours, all that stuff. So maybe making it a little, sort of streamline it a bit might be a good way — a good place to start a conversation.

Orlando, Florida

March 4, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Categories
Team Ireland

PGA Tour: Rory McIlroy Recaps Opening Round 65 and First Round Lead at The WGC Championship Mexico

Rory McIlroy speaks with the media following a successful opening round 65 at the WGC Championship Mexico to take a 2 stroke advantage over the field.

PGA Tour: Rory McIlroy speaks with the media following opening round 65 and talks new putting style, premiere golf league and more

Q. What was the difference between today and Sunday at the Genesis Open?
RORY McILROY: You know, I think at Genesis, I played 17 holes in 1-under par and then I obviously had a bad hole on the 5th, but I actually took a lot of positives from Sunday. I hung in there. I holed a nice one at the last at Riviera, which sort of gave me a little bit of momentum going into this week. But I changed my putter. I changed my putter when I got here. I went back to my old putter. I was sort of trying out a new putter last week and it didn’t quite work out the way I wanted it to, so I went back to the 34-inch. I was using a 35 last week. Yeah, I just felt a little bit more comfortable today and was seeing my lines a little bit better, and yeah, it was a good day.

Q. Seems to me there was a lot of figuring going on with the caddies. You had the altitude, the wind, the greens firmed up. I thought it was a hard day to play golf. Was that true?
RORY McILROY: A little bit. I don’t know if we’ve ever played this golf course in as much wind as today, especially some of the gusts that got up to maybe 10 or 15 miles an hour, which yeah, I can’t recall if we’ve played in wind as strong as that here, so yeah, pulling clubs and sort of trying to figure out how the wind is going to affect the ball up here was a little tricky, but I felt like Harry and I handled that pretty well.

Q. Switching to the slightly longer putter, I assume it was the same model, what was the idea of switching last week?
RORY McILROY: So at Torrey, sometimes with the 34, my right arm can get a little high and my right shoulder can sort of roll over, but with a 35 a little longer, it sort of puts my shoulder and my right elbow into better position, sort of more on plane with the shaft. So it looked really good on video and it felt good, but once I got out there, just that inch difference in the putter, it moves your eye line and you sort of stop seeing your lines the way you usually do, and I especially struggled last week on right to left putts because when it’s a longer putter and the ball is above your feet, you feel like the putter is up in your sort of belt.

I struggled a little bit with it last week. I wasn’t really expecting it. But I saw that the tournament threw with it and it didn’t quite work the way I wanted to, so I went back to the one this week, and did a really good session on Tuesday on the greens, did a few drills, sort of did a few things I maybe haven’t done the last couple weeks, got a little bit more comfortable, and it was nice to see it pay off today.

Q. What reaction have you had to what you said yesterday?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, some nice messages. Yeah, I mean, just sort of —

Q. Did you hope for that?
RORY McILROY: I don’t know. I wasn’t hoping for anything. I was just sort of providing my point of view and getting it off my chest, and that’s what I felt. I wasn’t trying to do anything or prove a point or try to get any sort of raise. I’ve sort of been sick of talking about it for the last few months, and I’m happy that everyone knows where I stand on that, and I’m happy that I know where I stand, certainly, on it.

Q. Did you get any nice messages from the TOUR, maybe Jay?
RORY McILROY: Maybe. (Laughter.)

Q. The height at which you hit the ball, what is that like here?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think with the fairways being so soft, as well, on a couple of the par-5s I teed it up high and sort of launched it. I had a 9-iron into the 15th. So yeah, and then even the drive on the 8th hole, getting it up and over the trees, and I hit a 9-iron in there, where Gary and Tommy were sort of hitting 6’s in, so that’s a pretty big difference.

So with the driver I can tee it up and I can launch it and maybe get a bit more out of it than some of the other guys, and then some of my sort of mid-irons I can — if I want to launch them up in the air, I can get a little bit more out of them.

But yeah, again, I did a good session on Tuesday on the TrackMan, and we did all our numbers and got it dialed in and sort of went from there, and felt like distance control was good today.

Q. What did you hit on your second on the 11th?
RORY McILROY: 4-iron from 275.

Q. Do you feel any different playing as world No. 1? Do you feel it changes your mindset?
RORY McILROY: Not particularly. No, I don’t think so. I mean, I’m confident because I played well. Regardless whether I have a 1 or a 2 or a 10 beside my name in the World Rankings, I’m comfortable with my golf game and I’m comfortable with what I’m doing, and that’s the most important thing.

Q. I think there was a time where you said you would check the rankings every Monday morning. Are you still doing that?
RORY McILROY: It’s funny when you’re on top that you don’t really do it that often. But yeah, I did it. I sort of last Monday I wanted to know what that putt on 18 was worth at Riviera, and it went from a .03 of the lead to .05 of the lead actually. But again, as long as I don’t think about it during my play and I track it on Monday morning, then I forget about it again, then it’s fine.

Q. With the type of grasses here, does this almost feel like a continuation of last week?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, a little bit. There was a couple of lies that I misjudged out there. That hole that I made bogey on, I felt like it was going to come out knuckly and it actually came out with spin, and a couple of lies around the greens I thought were going to spin and they didn’t, so I misjudged a couple of lies, but yeah, it definitely helps playing Riviera last week and then coming here because the ball does react pretty similarly.

Q. When you putt as well as you did today, especially with the minor equipment change you talked about, how much optimism does that give you for the rest of the week, especially on these greens?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, if I keep putting like that, I’ll be very happy. I’m not expecting to gain three and a half on the greens every day this week, but if I can keep my strokes gained numbers in the positive and putt better than the field average on greens like this, then you’re doing something right. But it was definitely validation to going back to the putter I’d been using for the last 14 months, I guess. A little blip last week, but I’m back, and I putted well today and hopefully continue to.

Q. Is it the same grip on the putter?
RORY McILROY: No, I actually changed the grip. I went to a slightly thicker grip. So the thicker grip gets your hands more facing each other and for me gets that right arm tucked in a little bit better and then gets the arm on the shaft clean, and I just stroke it better.

Q. If things had gone your way on Sunday and you had managed to win, would you have change putters?
RORY McILROY: Harry asked me that actually on Sunday night. He goes, if we won this week, would you change your putter, and I said, yeah, I probably still would have because I just didn’t feel quite as comfortable as I thought I would.

Q. Does that make you stubborn?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it does.

Q. When you got to the first and second hole, you had a long period to way there. How do you manage not to lose your rhythm and stay within the game?
RORY McILROY: Actually I had a lovely conversation with Doug Ferguson there, so that was what I did. But no, honestly, I like to talk about something else and get my mind away from the round, so yeah, we talked about all sorts of stuff over there. Actually I wasn’t quite ready to hit the tee shot, so I had to rush a little bit. Yeah, no, we deal with it every week on TOUR, and guys deal with it differently, they go and stand on their own or chat or they converse with someone. But I like to get my mind off it and sort of chat about anything else.

Q. You told Woodland and Fleetwood an anecdote on hole 2 and you had them laughing. What was that anecdote you told them, do you remember?
RORY McILROY: I don’t know, I tell so many. I’m a funny guy. I don’t know. I can’t remember.

Q. They showed your yardages on the telecast today. I’m just wondering how vast a difference are they this week from Riviera?
RORY McILROY: I mean, I was hitting little 7-irons from 155 yards at Riviera last week. It’s very different. It’s very different. Even when you get a shot into the wind here, it doesn’t affect it that much because into the wind the ball stays in the air longer and has a chance to fly further. So even into the wind there today on that last par-3 we played, the 7th hole, I pitched a 6-iron 230 into the wind. It plays a lot different. I mean, at the end of the day, it’s just a number, so if I know that this week my wedge goes 170, then that’s what I do, and I just have to trust that that’s what it goes. My 9-iron goes 180 in, my 8-iron goes 200, my 7 goes whatever, and as long as you trust those numbers and know that it is going to go that distance, it doesn’t really matter what club you’re using.

Q. What was working so well for you out there?
RORY McILROY: I putted a little better today than I did in Riviera last week, and I took advantage of how I drove the ball. I drove the ball well, took advantage of the par-5s, and yeah, I mean, I made one bogey. I misjudged the lie on the 4th hole there, but apart from that, just really solid on the golf course.

Q. Talk about the 11th.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it was a 4-iron from like 275. Yeah, it was really good. I was in between 4 and the rescue I’m carrying, but the wind just died down a touch and I was able to hit a good 4-iron in there.

Q. 275 with a 4-iron, just checking?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, that’s sort of what the 4-iron is going this week, which is nice, and it was really nice to hole this putt, see this putt go in early on. That’s one of the things I wasn’t doing last week at Riviera, so that was really nice.

Q. Last week kikuyu greens, this week kikuyu, as well. How much does that help you this week that you saw a little bit of this last week at Riviera?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it does. It prepared us. It’s a little softer here than it was in Riviera, especially at the weekend, but yeah, I went back to my old putter this week. I was trying a new putter last week that was 35 inches. Went back to my old one, which was 34, which I used all last year, and it worked pretty well last year, so going to keep it in the bag, and it worked really well today.

Q. When you switch putters, what are you looking for in that regard?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, for me it was sometimes my right arm position can get a bit high, and the 35 with it being a bit longer, my right elbow sort of tucks in a little bit better. But it just — on right to left putts, it just felt as if the putter felt a little too long, but this was really nice, a little downhiller, a little right to left, and obviously a nice way to finish off the day. Yeah, happy to have the old faithful back in the bag, and it worked out today.

Q. Last year you played so well but you got beat. There’s two ways of not getting a victory on the PGA TOUR; you either lose or you get beat. Last year you got beat by Dustin Johnson. How do you come back to a place like this with good vibes knowing you played so well here in the past?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, the first year we came here in ’17, I think I had the lead after 36. I didn’t end up winning but played well. Last year finished second, and then obviously off to a good start this year, so I like this place, and I like the golf course. I’ve always played pretty well at altitude for whatever reason that is, and yeah, as you said, I got beat last year, I didn’t lose. I played pretty well. Hopefully this year I can do one better.

Q. Big game, big field, No. 1 player in the world. How would you evaluate your performance?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it was good. All aspects of my game were working pretty well today. I drove the ball well, and I took advantage of that. I think the big thing was I putted well. I didn’t putt so well at Riviera last week. Went back to my old putter, was trying a new one last week. It didn’t quite work out the way I wanted it to, but I was comfortable on the greens today and holed some nice ones coming in today.

Q. A lot of players find poa annua greens difficult to putt on. What are you doing that’s allowing you to putt so well?
RORY McILROY: I think I just saw so many putts missed last week that it sort of — what else can happen? You’ve got to read it as well as you can and try and start it on your line, and if it goes in, it goes in. If it doesn’t — that was sort of the saving grace last week. I knew everyone was struggling on the greens. Yeah, I guess if a putt misses and you hit a good putt, then you just have to step up to the next one and have commitment. That’s what I did today. I had a really good attitude on the greens, and it paid off.

Q. What is it you like about this golf course?
RORY McILROY: I’ve always played well at altitude. I’ve played well in Crans over in Europe a few years. I finished second there last year, I obviously finished second here last year. I think I’ve got the altitude pretty figured out. I think I have a pretty good formula for it, and I can hit the ball a long way here, which helps, and then my distance control has been pretty good. That combined I’m not really guessing too much over things. Certainty goes a long way, especially around this place.

Q. Catching headlines yesterday around the world of golf and categorically saying that you were out with regards to the Premier Golf League. You explained yourself really well about your reasons behind it. We just really want to know about the timing. What was the thinking being the first player and saying what you have said around here?
RORY McILROY: Honestly, the chat has sort of been going since the end of last year, and it got to the point where I like to have certainty on things, and I sort of made a decision last week. I was like, you know what, what they’re proposing isn’t for me. I’d much rather pick and choose where I play and have that freedom and autonomy, as I said yesterday. I’d rather just get it off my chest and get it out there and tell everyone how I feel, and maybe that sways guys one way or another and makes them think a little bit, and that’s sort of what I was trying to do.

Mexico City, Mexico

February 20, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports