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Professionals

PGA Tour: Danny Lee Speaks to the Media About Open Championship Qualification Following Arnold Palmer Invitational

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 08: Danny Lee of New Zealand plays a shot on the second hole during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 08, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Danny Lee speaks to the media following the closing round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in which he finished in fifth place, good enough to earn a spot in this year’s Open Championship

PGA Tour: Danny Lee speaks on earning spot in the 2020 Open Championship

Q. Are you going to play the golf course before The Open Championship?
DANNY LEE: Yeah, I’ll try to go there the week before in advance, I guess, yeah, and put in some rounds.

Q. You’ve played The Open Championship twice and what was it about that that’s different from different Majors?
DANNY LEE: First of all, the tee time. I’ll never get used to 3 o’clock or 4 o’clock in the afternoon tee times and finish at like 9 or 8. I’m never used to that. And just the conditions and firmness of the area. I’m a very aggressive player and it seems like whenever I play the links golf course very aggressive it just bites me back. So this year I’ll play a little bit more smart, I guess.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

Q. Talk about the challenging week here.
DANNY LEE: Oh, it was. Saturday, Sunday was brutal. The wind and the firmness of the greens seems like when you think it can’t get any faster it just got faster and faster. Whenever I had a downhill putt I just couldn’t hit it soft enough. And but I still tried really hard to put myself in the position to catch up to the leader. And I really thought if I beat Sungjae today I probably had an idea that I had a pretty good chance to winning this event or come really close to finishing top 3 or something. But it was still a good round.

My goal before I teed off today was try to not finish over par for the round. So I accomplished that goal and it was very challenging this week.

Q. Thoughts on qualifying for The Open Championship?
DANNY LEE: I’m really pretty pumped up and I get another swing at a major and I’m going to just go over there and enjoy it.

Orlando, Florida

March 9, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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Team UK

PGA Tour: Matthew Fitzpatrick Recaps Top 10 Finish at The Arnold Palmer Invitational

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 05: Matthew Fitzpatrick of England lines up a putt on the sixth green during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 05, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick addresses the media following his top 10 finish at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational about his thoughts on his performance as well as 2020 Players Championship preparations

PGA Tour: Matthew Fitzpatrick finishes top 10 at 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Q. (No microphone.)
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: Glad to be in. But for today like the first seven holes I had it on a string and then all of a sudden I just seemed to lose every feeling I had in my irons. So it was then it was just a grind, as Billy tells me just to batten down the hatches. And just try and, literally, it felt like, just get it around, just advance the ball and then get it closer and then try and hole a putt.

Q. (No Microphone.)
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: I don’t know. It was tougher, like it was also tougher, to be honest. Once we got to 8, well, once we got to 6 as well, it started picking up. And then 8 was sort of howling across and then down a little and into a little, it was in between. And, yeah, it was just tough around sort of the middle, really.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

Q. Did you think after 16, though, the birdie at 16 did you think about a number?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: Yeah, well, I mean, I thought if I could just, I knew I needed to par 17 and then obviously if I could sneak a putt on 18. But I mean, I felt if I’m 2-under might have a chance, obviously a distant chance, but, yeah, anyway.

Q. Can you compare this weekend to anything that you’ve been through outside of perhaps the Majors?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: Oh, not outside the Majors, I was going to say Shinnecock. But it was — yeah, I can’t think of anywhere else that was sort of played like as hard as this, really. But I mean, like I was speaking to Derek all the time, I’m all for it like this. Like I would so much rather play it like this every week where it’s a battle and you got to go work hard and grind instead of wide open fairways, no wind and just, 65, you move down as well, you know.

Q. Do you need to do any work before the start of the PLAYERS?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: A lot, yeah (laughing.) No, no, my driving feels great, putting was miles better today, short game was solid. Just if I can start just giving myself a few more chances and, yeah, I think — but, I mean, from where I was after two rounds and three rounds, I’m delighted with where I am. So, yeah, overall looking at the result it’s a fantastic week, obviously the process of getting there wasn’t ideal, but, yeah, great week overall.

Orlando, Florida

March 9, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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Team UK

PGA Tour: 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Winner Tyrell Hatton Speaks to the Media

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 08: Tyrrell Hatton of England celebrates with the trophy after winning during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 08, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Englishman Tyrell Hatton addresses the media following his first PGA Tour victory at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational after finishing with a one stroke lead over Marc Leishman

PGA Tour: Tyrell Hatton speaks on first PGA Tour victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational

JOHN BUSH: We would like to welcome our 2020 winner of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, Tyrell Hatton.

Tyrell, challenging week overall. Congratulations on your first PGA TOUR victory. If we can get some comments, please.

TYRELL HATTON: Thank you. Well, firstly, it’s an incredible feeling to win on the PGA TOUR and to do it at such an iconic venue that, I’ve grown up watching this event as a kid on TV and to be sitting here next to the trophy now is an amazing feeling and very thankful I managed to hold on at the end.

JOHN BUSH: Before we open up to questions, you move up to number 14 in the FedExCup standings. Talk a little bit about how this sets you up for the rest of the season now.

TYRELL HATTON: Yeah, that’s a big jump for me. Coming into this week I didn’t have any exemptions, so when the season starts you are kind of just playing to keep your status for the following year. Obviously, I’m trying to juggle both tours, which is never easy and I’m normally playing around 16, 17 events, so that makes things certainly a little bit tougher to try and keep your status over here where most of the guys will probably be doing mid-20s. So to wrap that up and — how long is it?

JOHN BUSH: A three-year exemption.

TYRELL HATTON: A three year exemption? Wow. That’s amazing. So obviously I kind of know where I’m at now for awhile, which is great and hopefully I can push on and keep climbing the FedExCup.

John Bush: All right. Let’s go right into questions.

Q. For a guy who looks like he’s on edge a lot of the times, on a golf course that keeps you on edge for all the four hours you’re out there, how did you do it?
TYRELL HATTON: Yeah, the setup was extremely tough. And I said yesterday the hardest thing for me will be to manage myself. And over the course of this week I feel like I did a decent job of that.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

It was so tough and obviously everyone’s dropping shots quite easily. And after the double on 11, which was pretty tough to take, I’m happy with, I kind of — I feel like I could easily have blown up after that, and managed to kind of keep my head a little bit, although I did get a bit frustrated. That’s always going to happen with me. And as long as it’s not kind of keeping on over to the next shot, then I’ll be okay. And I’m just happy that I’ve managed myself well enough this week to be sitting here.

Q. A lot of us know Mick as a kind of colorful guy and a good time guy. But obviously he’s a very positive influence on you. Can you speak about how he’s done that and especially on a day like today when it’s really tough out there.
TYRELL HATTON: Yeah, me and Mick have been working together since the British Masters in May of last year, and I’ve loved working with him. He’s a national treasure, I think (Laughing). He’s so funny. He’s, he keeps — he’s good at talking to me on the course and we have had some really good results and he’s played a huge part in my success recently — or our success, I should say.

Q. Some players say that the tougher the challenge, the better they like it. Are you one of those players or have you come to become one of those today?
TYRELL HATTON: I think players kind of would look back at this week and it’s nice to play something different. Most weeks it’s not target golf, but the scores are super low. And this ended up sort of feeling like a Major with the setup and how firm the greens were and it was just, it was hard to hit it close. I don’t think there was, there was only a handful, not even a handful of guys that were under par for the weekend.

Q. Can I get you to comment just on a few shots in particular today, please? The putt on 11 for double was pretty big. The one out of the rough on 13, that was, looked very difficult. And then the 17th hole.
TYRELL HATTON: Yeah, so the, obviously, the putt for double on 11 isn’t, is never ideal to have a 6-footer with more than a cup right-to-left break. It was, I hit a terrible first putt. I kind of, I didn’t trust my line and I was worried about it coming out a bit soft and I end up rip pulling it and then you’re left with a really smelly putt. Thankfully that managed to go in.

The 8-iron on 13? Yeah, obviously, terrible tee shot to end up there. I kind of struggled with flighting the ball as low as I normally would like to and obviously I had just come out of it and with a spinny fade. But we didn’t, we actually had a decent lie in the rough over there. Although, I imagine I was the only person in the field to be over there this week. It came out perfectly. And the wind didn’t gust too much, although I think we only had 140 yards, we knew it was all carry.

And then the 5-iron into 17. It’s amazing the thoughts that you can have upon impact, because at impact I genuinely thought I had hit a spinny cut into the water. So to look up and see it having a little baby draw into the pin is, obviously, I was quite relieved at that.

Q. Well done, again. This time last week we were sitting here and there was a bit of controversy in relation to comments made of Tommy Fleetwood and Lee Westwood. Now, you winning here on the PGA TOUR for the first time, can this be a reflection and a statement that European Tour players are good players and they can win on the PGA TOUR, without getting to controversial?
TYRELL HATTON: No, I don’t think it’s a statement. I think whatever TOUR you play on it’s extremely hard to win golf tournaments and we’re all trying to do that each week. And more often than not, I guess things maybe don’t go your way and you end up not winning. So like I say, it’s tough to win and I’m sure, obviously, everyone’s time comes and thankfully my time was this week.

Q. When you came off 11 you made a pretty animated gesture back at the hole as you were heading to 12. I just wonder what was going on in your mind at that moment and how long did it take to you kind of flush that as you got back to 12.
TYRELL HATTON: Yeah, well, I was just annoyed because my third shot in was actually one of the best swings I made all day. We had, the run out on the TV tower, which was my line, we had 193 and I’ve hit a 5-iron at my target and the wind just completely dropped. So that kind of went against us on that hole and I was just having a little moan, like it’s the grass’s fault and the wind’s fault. It’s never my fault. But this is, like going back to a question about Mick, he was really good. Obviously, he just told me to kind of get focused again, it’s done, move on, and have a few practice swings and just kind of get some good feelings again. And I stood on the 12th tee and that was probably one of the best tee shots, certainly, that I hit today.

Q. You spoke of Mick’s influence, but why do you think you’re better equipped now to handle those potentially blow-up situations than you were maybe three or four years ago?
TYRELL HATTON: I guess it just comes with experience. This is my — well, third year on the PGA TOUR, my seventh season on the European Tour. You get yourself in, if you play well enough, often you get, you give yourself opportunities, and I guess you learn things, and I guess I was a little bit more comfortable out there today. And also, this is only my second event back from wrist surgery. So it might sound daft, but my expectations maybe aren’t as high as they would be in a middle of the season if I was, been playing quite a bit. But this is still kind of part of the comeback for me and maybe that helped.

Q. I remember a couple years ago at Honda you talked about living in this town probably at about age 20 or so, you had a few roommates, trying to play the Hooter’s Tour, scratch out a living. At the time did you have a lot of belief in yourself or did this seem a far, far ways away?
TYRELL HATTON: I think you have to believe in yourself, otherwise you’ve got no chance. So obviously the goal was to, at that time, to be playing the European Tour and hopefully eventually PGA TOUR as well. And I think this was 2012, I think that we were out here playing Hooter’s Winter Series. I’ve got good memories from that time and we’ve, me and Emily, my fiance’, we have rented a place here in Orlando now, so it kind of feels like home away from home, which is nice to have. And that’s one of the reasons we come back.

Q. When your wrist injury was taking longer than you hoped, your recovery, did the thoughts of events like this one help sustain you? And also, living in this area, has your appreciation of who Arnold Palmer and what he meant, has it grown?
TYRELL HATTON: Well, at the time, obviously, the surgery took longer to recover from, but as it became more apparent that the, that I was kind of getting back into golf, I knew that I was going to be starting my season in Mexico and I was going to have two weeks in Orlando before then. And we were actually really excited to come out, come back out here, and obviously, we feel very comfortable here and that’s why we have kind of made it our second home. And to, I guess to have your own, to sleep in your own bed on a tournament week is something that we don’t get to experience too often. And home comforts, I think maybe helped keep me a little bit more relaxed as well.

Q. No Englishman has won next week. Just with your form and Tommy, do you think it’s as good a chance as any to break that drought?
TYRELL HATTON: Time will tell. It’s hard to kind of think about next week at the moment with the sort of potential celebrations we have got later today. I don’t think I’ll be in any fit state but, at least until Wednesday. But yeah, I think we’ll savor this one quit a bit. But next week’s going to be, it will be interesting and hopefully an Englishman can finally win that trophy.

Q. Curious, how frustrating was it today to sort of be grinding the way you did? And given, if there was a level of frustration, how rewarding is it to battle through that?
TYRELL HATTON: Yeah, it was really tough out there and obviously I was getting frustrated at times, but nowhere near the blowups that I am capable of. And it’s just one of those days where you just got to stick in there, and patience is one of the hardest things with me. To think that I’ve shot, what was it? 3-over for the weekend and ended up winning the tournament. If you told me that on Friday night I wouldn’t have believed you. But it just shows how tough it was. And obviously, like I said earlier, I’m very thankful to sit next to this trophy.

Q. But does that in some way make it more rewarding, I guess, when you have to battle through that, not only the challenge of the golf shots, but battling yourself?
TYRELL HATTON: Yeah, I think this is, it was, it’s such a tough week and to come out on top is a great feeling and you certainly feel like you’ve played a lot more than 72 holes by the end of it.

Q. I got two for you. The first being, do you have, what do you think you’ll do with the red cardigan?
TYRELL HATTON: Well, I don’t want to ruin it and with the celebrations that will occur tonight I think it’s best to put on a coat hanger. But it’s very special to have this and it will take quite a place in the wardrobe.

Q. The other thing is, in the broadcast David Feherty made this comment, he said that you’re nice to everyone but yourself. Do you agree with that?
TYRELL HATTON: That’s probably a good thing to say, actually. Yeah, like I’m a shy person, but I feel like I’ll be, I’m nice but obviously to myself I give myself a hard time and that’s one thing that I should probably get better at.

Q. I don’t think you came over here until, U.S. membership until about 2017 or so. But even from your days in the Hooters Winter Series, have you ever had any occasion to either come over here or meet Arnold?
TYRELL HATTON: No, I never sort of had the opportunity to. Yeah, sorry. Yeah.

Q. A quick one. You were saying at the start of the week that this event is the first of seven over eight weeks. Do you think that may change now, the sort of schedule over this sort of part of the season that includes the Masters as well?
TYRELL HATTON: Potentially. That’s something that I’ll sit down and talk to my management company about and we’ll kind of go from there. Obviously, like I said, the immediate thought is to kind of get celebrating, so I’m sure the relevant conversations will be had, but obviously I want to be playing golf, give myself a good run into the Masters and so we’ll see what happens.

JOHN BUSH: All right, congratulations once again to our 2020 champion, Tyrell Hatton.

TYRELL HATTON: Thank you.

Orlando, Florida

March 8, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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Team Australia

PGA Tour: Marc Leishman Recaps Slow Start and Near Comeback at The Arnold palmer Invitational

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 08: Marc Leishman of Australia plays his shot from the eighth tee during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 08, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

PGA Tour professional Marc Leishman addresses the media following a slow start but big weekend charge to come up just 1 stroke short behind champion Tyrell Hatton.

PGA Tour: Marc Leishman speaks with the media following final round of 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational and runner-up finish

Q. It was a little tough start but you battled. You gave yourself a chance coming down the end. Just not quite enough. But it had to be tough out there today.
MARC LEISHMAN: It was tough again. It wasn’t the start I was after today and I fought really hard. Made some — well, I birdied the par-5s on the back nine and that’s what you got to do around here. So, yeah, a little bit disappointed, but it was a strong week. Signs are good for next week. Tyrell played good, did what he needed to do and on a really, really tough golf course. So it was a fun week.

Q. You move both into the top 10 in FedExCup points and the Wyndham rewards, continuing good solid play this season, you’re playing awfully well. You’ve got to feel good about that.
MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, I think I got a 1st, 2nd, and a 3rd, now, so try to add to that win column. It’s been a good start to the year. Obviously, the win at Torrey Pines was good and to be in the top 10 this early in year is nice. It’s nice not having to play catchup. So hoping I can have a big week next week and get back into the winner’s circle.

Q. You weren’t giving up. You came back pretty hard.
MARC LEISHMAN: No, I never give up. I said to Matty — we were walking down 16, I said, Of all the courses on the PGA TOUR, this is the last one you’d pick if you had a two-shot lead your three to go. So Tyrell never gave up. He did what he needed to do there at the end. Great par on 18 particularly. That’s a brutal hole, tough pin placement, you have to really hold your shot. So yeah, made it interesting. Would have been nice if that putt would have dropped on 17. I felt pretty good when I hit it. Not to be. But happy with the week. With really tough conditions, I played probably as good as I played for quite awhile. So and it was good to play well under pressure there too at the end. So, yeah, happy with the week and all credit to Tyrell.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

Q. What do you lean towards more at the moment, the disappointment or sort of excited that you played so well with such a big window coming up?
MARC LEISHMAN: I think both. Obviously anytime you have a chance to win you want to pull it off and win. You don’t get too many chances. So, yes, I’m disappointed, but I’m just happy that I — I’m happy I played well. It felt like a U.S. Open out there. Fast greens, long rough, narrow fairways, and big crowd, big vocal crowds. So it was a lot of fun. Obviously, I would have liked to have won but that was a fun day, a fun week.

Q. How much do you relish this sort of challenge as opposed to weeks when it’s 18- or 20-under par trying to win?
MARC LEISHMAN: I enjoy both, but this, I just love the — I love when you, if you shoot par it’s a good score. But it’s also fun shooting real low numbers. So I enjoy all sorts of golf, but this is a really big mental test. And going into the PLAYERS next week in a good place mentally and with the major season coming up as well. Yeah, so good signs. Going to take some positives out of this. Happy to put four pretty good rounds together and try and do the same thing at PLAYERS next week.

Q. (Question about playing Sawgrass.)
MARC LEISHMAN: Not really, to be honest. I think I missed the last few cuts there. I think I’m due for a good week there. That’s why I’m going there. But my game’s in a good spot. I feel great with the putter. Hoping next week can be my week there. I only had one top 10 there in 10 or 11 events. So it hasn’t a happy hunting ground for me, but we’ll try and change that.

Orlando, Florida

March 8, 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

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 08: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his shot from the third tee during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 08, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

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.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

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: Graeme McDowell Talks Opening Round 65 at Arnold Palmer Invitational

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 05: Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland plays his shot from the 17th tee during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 05, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Major champion and Orlando native Graeme McDowell speaks with the media following an opening round 65 good for a tie for 5th place at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational

PGA Tour: Graeme McDowell speaks to the media following opening round of The Arnold Palmer Invitational

Q. Some birdies on the card, a couple bogies, the putt you made at 18, I know your mouth was wide open when it went in, I was calling it as it went in, I’m thinking, oh, man, it did a 360. 140 feet worth of puts today. Tell us about the round.
GRAEME MCDOWELL: I putted well. I putted very well. Seeing the greens well, feeling really good on the greens. The surfaces are fantastic this week. There’s not a lot of grain on them at all. They’re not up to speed yet, obviously, with the wind forecast today, I assume the maintenance crew decided that they were going to try to take the sting out of them a little bit. I’m fully expecting these greens to be pretty firm and pretty fast come the weekend here. But, listen, pleasing to putt like that. The save on 15 was probably the most important save of the day. I hit a 4-iron in there over the back, kind of knifed my bunker shot, put it in the front bunker and hit a phenomenal drop shot. I made a 20-footer for 5. It’s putts like that that really turn good rounds into great rounds and the putter certain served me well today.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

Q. The guys who finished in the morning who looked at the afternoon forecast thought, Oh, this is not going to be good for those guys. But we have seen some good numbers, including yours.
GRAEME MCDOWELL: Yeah, we were lucky to get two and a half, three hours where it really wasn’t blowing particularly strong. But eventually it did arrive and it made those last five or six holes quite tricky. And the golf course remains playable, because I think there’s a lot of cross winds. There’s not a lot of into-the-teeth type shots. 9 is probably, 9 and 15 are probably the two standout really difficult holes on the course, and the rest are just kind of playable.

So we’re going to see a completely different wind direction tomorrow, so it’s going to be interesting. I always like that because I feel like guys put a game plan together and then when the wind switches game plans are out the window, so you have to be smart and have a great caddie and be able to think on your feet.

Q. You call Orlando home now you’re a restauranteur, a dad more than once, a husband, major champion. First time you played here was 2005 and you finished second. What does this tournament and the legend of Mr. Palmer mean to you and this Orlando community?
GRAEME MCDOWELL: Yeah, I think this tournament continues to grow as far as what it means to me. I think having both my kids in the Winnie Palmer Hospital, to be an ambassador to this tournament the year after Mr. Palmer passed away, having two seconds here, having my family here. Like all of the above really makes this a special event for me. It’s a golf course I feel comfortable on, which is very nice. And, listen, love to, dearly love to have this one on the resume. But the most important thing this week is Mr. Palmer’s legacy, just taking that extra second to be a great role model, to be a great professional and living up to the standards that he really, that he laid out for us all.

Orlando, Florida

March 5, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Categories
Team USA

PGA Tour: Arnold Palmer Invitational Leader Matt Every Speaks With the Media Following Round 1

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 05: Matt Every of the United States reacts after his birdie during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 05, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Two-time Arnold Palmer Invitational winner Matt Every addresses the media following an opening round 65, taking a one stroke overnight lead over Rory McIlroy.

PGA Tour: Matt Every addresses the media after capturing overnight lead at 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational

THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome Matt Every to the interview room. Matt, great playing out there. What was clicking for you so well?

MATT EVERY: Everything, really. I just played pretty good. At the start of the day, I just didn’t want to shoot myself out of the tournament with the weather the way it was, but I got off to a good start. The putter actually was a little shaky. It’s always a little shaky, but it was a little shaky to start. I didn’t really make anything and then I made a nice par save on 14 and then I started making some putts after that, and it just worked out. It was a good day for me.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

THE MODERATOR: You’ve obviously had a lot of success here in the past. What about this course kind of suits your eye?

MATT EVERY: I don’t really — I actually think it’s probably a drawer’s course, but I’m more of a — I like to work it left-to-right. I think, if anything, it kind of forces me off the tee to — there’s a lot of holes here where it’s iron off the tee and so I’m going to be hitting out of the fairway and my strength is probably my irons. So, and maybe it gives me more opportunities. I don’t know, but something.

THE MODERATOR: Open it up for some questions here.

Q. So when did you kind of know it was your day? I mean, on the front nine you made, like, three putts that were, like, bombs.
MATT EVERY: Yeah. Well, I’m not apologizing for that. Probably on the second hole, I made a really long one and I wasn’t — those are just luck, especially when it’s windy out and these greens are pretty crusty already. You’re just, they’re, I mean, you know, I think it was probably like a 40- or 50-footer that broke 6 feet and the wind’s blowing and I’m just trying to get down in two. Things like that happen when you have good days and — probably on No. 2.

Q. What’s the key to, like, your mentality, just to kind of build on this? And I know you’ve had your share of struggles. How do you just keep it moving forward?
MATT EVERY: Well, my short-term memory isn’t very good, so that is a strength sometimes. And I just, I don’t know, I’ll be all right. I mean, either way it’s crazy how much this game can affect like your life — or not your life but just the way you, maybe your mindset or whatever. But it’s going to be all right either way no matter what I shoot tomorrow. But I think I’m going to be all right this week. I’m hitting it really good. We’ll see. It’s only Thursday — it’s Thursday though, I know, and there’s a lot of golf left.

Q. What kind of frame of mind did you leave Honda in? And knowing you’re coming here, did it help?
MATT EVERY: Probably a little bit. I left Honda — I actually flew up to see my coach on Saturday after Honda. Something was off and I bent my irons, like, two degrees upright, a little change in my swing, and I was back, and, you know, it was night and day. And then all week here it’s been really good on the course and on the range and those days don’t really, those days don’t count, but it did translate over and that’s nice to see.

Q. When you first came to Bay Hill however many years ago, was it a course that you always kind of felt fit your game or did it take some time?
MATT EVERY: No, like, well, when I first came here, my dad used to bring me here. I never really thought about playing it. But yeah, even before I won I probably played here a few times before it and I don’t think I like lit the world on fire here. It wasn’t — I might have had like a 30th or something, but it’s — I don’t know what it is. It just works out here sometimes.

Q. The record will show that you were 20 shots better than the last round of golf you played on the PGA TOUR. What do you think of that?
MATT EVERY: I think it’s, I think it’s awesome. I wouldn’t read too much into that last round.

Q. A little skewed —
MATT EVERY: Yeah, I mean there was a hole last week, where, the way I was hitting it, I could have just — yeah, I wouldn’t read too much into it.

Q. I mean, there’s one hole you made an 11. Just curious, what happened on that? Were you just —
MATT EVERY: No, so, okay, I’ll tell you what happened. It was a back left pin. I was already going to miss the cut. It was — the wind was off the right. I had been having problems all week holding the wind and I’m, and I normally can hold the wind. And I’m not going to learn anything by skanking one out to the right and bailing out. I know I can do that. So I wasn’t leaving that tee until I hit the shot I wanted and I flushed every one of them, like, exactly in the same spot in the water. And then finally I hit one that held it. But, yeah, that’s just —

Q. You hit, what, a 4-iron?
MATT EVERY: I hit four 5-irons and then one 4-iron.

Q. What took you four shots to go to the 4?
MATT EVERY: I think I had like two balls left and it was, I just didn’t want to have to deal with that talking about, you know, it’s just — I was ready to get out of there.

Q. But you finished.
MATT EVERY: I did, yeah.

Q. This is going to sound like a really vague question, but what’s your attitude like?
MATT EVERY: Right now?

Q. Yeah. Is it good?
MATT EVERY: It’s all right. My year hasn’t been great. I’ve had some back issues all year, really. The warm weather helps big time. It sucks having those. You know it’s there in the back of your head and some days are better than others, but.

Q. Is it low back?
MATT EVERY: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But my attitude’s pretty good, though. Like, as a whole this year, it’s been really good. I think it’s good all the time now. I mean, I get angry but who doesn’t get angry?

Q. I don’t want to take anything away from your round but when you teed up this morning, probably Rory is in the clubhouse at 6-under. What is it like when you see a guy like the world No. 1 on top of the leaderboard and like years ago we always used to see Tiger on the top of the leaderboard. Is there an extra incentive in teeing up when you see a guy like Rory up there to try and match that score?
MATT EVERY: Well, when I teed it up today, I was, I swear, I was just trying not to shoot myself out of the tournament. It was — and that’s just the truth. It was pumping and it’s not easy. But clipped Rory by one today.

Q. You had bogey-free today. You were bogey-free, I saw, at Spyglass during Pebble Beach. Do you feel like your game has started to turn the corner in a way?
MATT EVERY: Well, I always feel like my good stuff has been really, is really, really good. There’s just no, like, middle ground with me, though. That’s the problem. It’s, like, either ragged or really good. I don’t know if I’ll ever be like Mr. Consistent out here. I don’t know if I have that in me. Like, I don’t know if I have the mental makeup to do that. It’s just not really who I am. I don’t know. But, yeah, I feel good about my game right now.

Q. Do you still think of this as your home game or is PLAYERS or —
MATT EVERY: Well, probably here. I mean, I moved. I live in Jacksonville now, but I’ve had way more success here than TPC, that’s for sure. And here it feels like — like, TPC is the TOUR’s thing. This feels like, I don’t know, just feels different. There’s a ton of guys. You know what I’m saying? I guess there’s a ton of guys that live in Orlando it too, but there’s not a lot of guys that are from Florida. Like, a lot of guys move here, but I don’t know. Stop thinking so hard.

Q. I need to be more like you.
What was the best shot of the day?

MATT EVERY: 16. I caught a really big gust. It started to like really gust on the tee. I probably should have backed off and I hit a really good drive, but it just got clobbered and I had like 220-something into the hole, and I hit a 3-wood. It was straight into the wind and I hit a really good 3-wood to probably, like, 12 feet. That was the best one, I thought.

Q. Were you pissed when you missed the putt?
MATT EVERY: I expected to miss it, to be honest.

Q. Why?
MATT EVERY: Just because that’s what I do. I miss those.

Q. But it’s still interesting and I’m kind of rehashing here, but you haven’t really, since Dallas probably, I would have to look it up, which was a really nice run, done anything and then you show up and boom, 65. Should we expect it because it’s Matt Every at Bay Hill?
MATT EVERY: No, see, I don’t think that either, though. That’s too much thinking for me to do right now.

Q. I over did it too, apparently. And lastly, just kind of in house cleaning, are you at — where are you with any type of a TUE coming off the thing from last year? Are you at peace with that? Have you sorted that out? What have you got going?
MATT EVERY: Well, I think actually after Dallas, you know, that was, it’s not like — when that stuff comes out it’s not like it just happens right then. That had been going on for awhile. And it was probably in the back of my mind a little bit and affected my game a little. I have applied for one and I’ve been denied. I might a play again. I don’t know yet.

Q. Do you know why you were denied?
MATT EVERY: It’s not FDA approved. There’s a lot of reasons, I’m sure. Oh, I know. Xanax is way safer to take than THC, so that’s, that’s probably one of the reasons. But — that was a joke. But it’s not — look, I am at peace with it. I don’t, it doesn’t bother me at all. Well, I change my mind. Actually, no, that’s wrong. It bothers me that it’s even an issue out here at all. I think it doesn’t do anybody any favors that it’s even on the list for a prohibited substances. You could fail for heroin and marijuana and the penalty is the same. If anyone wants to make the argument that that is performance enhancing, they have never done it before. I promise it’s not. It’s just — I don’t know. It’s just — I think, I think it would be really cool if — I know the NHL has taken some steps and a couple other, the MLB has, the — what, the NFL just had their, what do you call it?

Q. CBA.
MATT EVERY: Yeah. And they have talked about it. I think it would be cool if we were proactive about it and made some changes. I, you know, anxiety is a real thing and the way I treat it — like, I know I treat it the healthiest way possible for my body. And but WADA doesn’t think so and the TOUR goes by what WADA says. So it’s really silly, to be honest. It’s really silly. Now I’m kind of fired up about it, so I’m going to stop talking now.

Q. A little bit along those lines, one by one states — it’s becoming legalized in states now —
MATT EVERY: Right.

Q. — so is that part of what you’re, it’s kind of part of the point you’re making, is it not?
MATT EVERY: A little bit. I think it’s — look, I don’t want — I’m not in this for attention. I don’t want to have social media, like, this is, it’s about me, to be honest. I don’t — yeah, it’s decriminalized in, like, 41 states, I think. I don’t want to be a spokesperson for it. I’m not into that. I also, you know, I’ve tried other, other options, CBD oil, whatever. Snake oil. I mean, CBD oil. Whatever. So I know what works for me. You know, I’ve had to dial back a little bit, but it is what it is.

Q. Is there anything you can — you know, what do you do, I guess, not being able to do what you want to do? You know what I mean?
MATT EVERY: Sure. So there’s levels — well geez, this got, this took, took a turn (Laughing.)

So, there’s levels — here’s the other thing that’s weird. The cutoff for THC is 150 nanograms. So you could have, you know, let’s just — we’ll use me. If I get tested and I have, and I’m at 145, good to go. If I’m at 155, I’m a drug abuser. That’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous. Yeah.

THE MODERATOR: All right, Matt, thanks for the time, we’ll wrap it up. Great playing today.

Orlando, Florida

March 5, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Categories
Team USA

PGA Tour: Brooks Koepka Talks Disappointing Even Par Opening Round at The Arnold Palmer Invitational

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 05: Brooks Koepka of the United States plays his shot from the 12th tee during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 05, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

PGA Tour professional and four-time major champion Brooks Koepka Addresses the media following a somewhat disappointing opening round 72 at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational

PGA Tour: Brooks Koepka recaps even par round 1 at The Arnold Palmer Invitational

Q. Your takeaway from today?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Even par. Nothing to get excited about. Nothing to rave about. It’s not far off, but it’s still, it’s annoying.

Q. Was it putting? Putts not going in?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Well, the par-3, 14, you got 25 feet for birdie, hit a good shot in there and then walk away with bogey, 3-putt. Just shots where I know if I’m in rhythm, it’s not, it’s going to be tight. Still not, just not capitalizing on anything. Turning what should be a routine 4 or par or whatever into a bogey and, well, it’s just not all there.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

Q. Are you pressing at all or feeling like you’re pressing?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I just work through it. That’s why I’m playing this week. I wasn’t going to be here. I’m trying to figure it out. So it’s close, it’s not far away.

Q. What are you trying to figure out?
BROOKS KOEPKA: How to play golf.

Q. How long a session do you figure you’ll be out here working with your coach?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Not too long. It’s windy. I felt like I hit it all right. The last couple holes just kind of got away from me, but it shouldn’t be too long. Like I said, it’s close. It’s not far away. But it has nothing to do with out here. I can hit it great out here. It’s about when the gun goes off. I played great yesterday, hit it great on the range. It’s when the gun goes off.

Q. How is the course playing?
BROOKS KOEPKA: It’s playing all right. The rough’s obviously up from what it’s been in years past. Greens are a little bit, got a little bit of trampoline affect to them, you know, on your chips. Can’t really spin them. But the greens are rolling pretty good, so the course has held up pretty well.

Q. What do you think about Florida State’s new football coach?
BROOKS KOEPKA: They got a longer way to go than I do. They got a longer way. So they’re, they have got a few years. Hopefully mine doesn’t take that long.

Q. Have you been in this position before? And if so, did you learn anything working your way through it last time?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, you can look at my results for the past three years, all the way through until about Match Play is when I started playing. I just feel like I’m playing good. That’s why it’s so frustrating. Before I felt like I played terrible and the scores have been terrible. So it’s not — last year at Honda was kind of a shock. I thought I was playing bad and ended up finishing second. That was the only good one. Years before it hasn’t been very good this time of year and I feel like I’m playing way better than what I’m shooting.

Q. (No Microphone.)
BROOKS KOEPKA: It is what it is, man. I’m still trying my ass off. I can promise you that.

Q. What’s your opinion on the new proposed golf league, the Premier League?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I said it like 10 times, I said I’m going to play where the best players play, simple as.

Orlando, Florida

March 5, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Categories
Team Ireland

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

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 05: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts after finishing on the ninth green during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 05, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

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.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

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

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 04: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays a shot during the pro-am round prior to the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 04, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

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.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

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