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THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPJuly 17, 2014Rory McIlroyHOYLAKE, ENGLAND MIKE WOODCOCK: Welcome back into the interview room, Rory McIlroy. Rory, that's a great start for you today at 6-under par, 66. You must be very pleased to get off to a good start in The Open Championship once again. RORY McILROY: Definitely, yeah. Anytime you shoot 66 at the Open Championship, you're going to be pleased. We had perfect scoring conditions out there this morning. There wasn't much wind early on. The wind started to pick up a little bit on the back nine. But, yeah, there was plenty of opportunities to make birdies. I was able to take a few of them. Another great start and, yeah, looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow. Q. During your second round struggles how much unsolicited advice have you received about how you can turn it around? And has anyone said anything, offered any really crazy suggestion, like pretend it's Thursday? RORY McILROY: Someone did, but I shouldn't mention what it is or who it was. But, not really. I think I just got -- whenever I go out and play on Thursdays there's not really -- there's not many expectations. You're going out there and you're trying to find a rhythm, and you're just trying to play your way into the round. When you go back out on Friday after a good score, you know what you can do on the golf course. So you're going out with some expectations compared to when on Thursday you're going out with not many. I think I've just got to approach it like that, and start off trying to hit solid shots the first few holes and play my way into the round, just like I did today. I hit some really good shots on the first holes and that gave me confidence and then I could go from there. But really just take it one hole at a time, one shot at a time. I know everyone says it and you've heard it a million times, but it's true. That's what I'll be trying to do tomorrow. Q. That 16 tee is so featureless, I wonder what you aim at. RORY McILROY: With the wind being off the left today, I guess I was aiming at that far bunker, like 330, and just trying to let it come off it. I knew if I hit a solid shot with the wind, it was just going to push it back to the right. I didn't really have a definitive end point or finish point to where I wanted the ball to finish. But I just needed the shot. I saw the shot shape I wanted, and I knew there was plenty of room right of that bunker where it would hit the fairway. Q. (Inaudible.) RORY McILROY: 6-iron. Q. People in Liverpool are renounced for their wit. Any particular amusing support out there today? You had terrific support today. RORY McILROY: Yeah, I did get terrific support, even though I support Man United (laughter). No, I took my hat off on 16 or 17, walking up the fairway, I heard someone say, "Get a hair cut." Apart from that, no. The support out there was really great. And hopefully I can give them a lot more to cheer about over the next few days. Q. Given the expectation of yourself, I guess, and the crowds, is it possible to relax and enjoy an experience like The Open? RORY McILROY: Of course it is, yeah. I mean, you enjoy every minute of it, even -- I mentioned to JP today, my caddie, walking up just the third fairway, all three of us in the group had hit good shots in. And I turned around and said, "There's nothing like the atmosphere of an Open Championship." It is different. The crowds are so enthusiastic and knowledgeable, it's just a pleasure to play in front of them. So, yeah, of course, you are able to enjoy it. Q. The forecast for tomorrow afternoon isn't great. Is that going to help you perhaps just to focus on the job at hand rather than think of the freaky Friday thing? I also wonder, having played so well in Royal Aberdeen when the conditions weren't easy, how much that's going to help? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I am glad that I went up to Aberdeen last week and played under some different conditions. I thought that it might prepare me well for this week. I've seen that there could be some weather moving in tomorrow afternoon and high winds and maybe a bit of rain, maybe a couple of thunderstorms. But I feel like I'm well prepared this week for whatever the conditions. I've practiced in windy conditions the last few weeks. I've practiced the shots that I might need for a bad day like tomorrow might be. Will that help in any way? It might do, because you're really just concentrating on one shot at a time when the weather is like that. It's not like I've shot good scores in first rounds and haven't backed them up before. I'm used to doing that. I just haven't done it recently. We'll see what tomorrow brings and what weather it is and try and handle it as best I can. Q. You led The Open after the first round in 2010 -- RORY McILROY: Finished third that year (laughter). Q. Can you just compare the rounds, these first rounds, and just compare the player you are now to what you were then? RORY McILROY: That first morning in St. Andrews was -- it was similar in terms of the conditions. We got the golf course in. It was very scorable. I actually think it's a very similar type of golf course in terms of you take advantage of the par 5s. There's a few shorter par-4s that you can make birdies on, as well. I think the game plan, stay out of the bunkers. The game plan on Hoylake and St. Andrews is actually quite similar in some ways. That 63 was -- I really got it going that day. I played the back nine really well. Today was just a real solid round of golf. I hit it into the spots I needed to. Took my pars on the tougher holes. Made three birdies out of the four on the par 5s, and just picked a couple more up when I could. 63 at St. Andrews was a better round of golf, but there were similarities in there. Q. I think you used your driver or 3-wood on seven holes. In your own mind would you say that was quite aggressive? Were you attacking the course, do you think? RORY McILROY: I don't feel like I was overly aggressive. I felt like I hit a lot of irons off the tee. The first four holes I hit iron off tee. I hit driver on 5, driver on 7. Yeah, it wasn't overly -- I actually probably would have hit, thinking back on it, I would have hit driver one more time on 17. I hit 2-iron off the tee and didn't hit a very good shot. But getting up there with the wind condition, the way the wind was, driver might not have been a bad play. I don't feel like it was overly aggressive, I don't feel like -- I feel like I stuck to my game plan. That was the game plan I had going out and that's what I did. Q. When you're playing a group of young and up-and-coming players like you were today, did you think about how much golf you might play with these guys over the next 20 years, and sort of comparing who does what well? RORY McILROY: A little bit, yeah. I'm sort of getting past that young guy stage, I think. Jordan is 20 or 21 or whatever, and Hideki is like 21. I feel like -- yeah, I definitely think we're going to play a lot of golf together. Jordan is a great young player. Hideki just won The Memorial Tournament. There's a lot of good young guys coming up. But, yeah, I mean there's a lot of things that both guys do well. And what Rickie does well, and what some of the other younger guys do well. So yeah, looking forward to having plenty of battles with them over the next 20 years. Q. Will you keep an eye on the leaderboards tomorrow or are you thinking you -- RORY McILROY: No, I'll just be conscious of myself, really. But I'll try not to think about where I am on the leaderboard or what position I am in the tournament it because it's irrelevant; it's only the second day. You might need to know on the back nine on Sunday. But apart from that, you just go out and try to play your best. Q. Has that changed? RORY McILROY: I think when I'm in a real good mindset I don't care, I don't really look at leaderboards too much. Is it a change from the last few weeks? Yes. So, yeah, I'll try to avoid looking -- I'll still know where I am or where I stand or what score I'm on. But I'll try not to pay too much attention to where I am on the leaderboard. Q. When was it exactly that you realized freaky Fridays had become a problem? Was it in Aberdeen or was it before that that you were conscious of what was happening on a Friday? RORY McILROY: It was way before that. I had a bad Friday afternoon at Augusta, and then just made the cut. And then I started off horrifically at Quail Hollow on Friday afternoon. And then did the same thing at Sawgrass. That's like three tournaments in a row. That's when I was conscious of it. I was 3-over through 9 on Friday at Wentworth, and then I was able to get it back in form. And then Memorial obviously was the biggest one. There's nothing really to it. It's just, as I said at the start about maybe having higher expectations going out on a Friday because you shot a low round, and just trying to put those expectations aside and just try and take it one hole at a time. Q. (Inaudible.) RORY McILROY: Back in like '09 and '10 I felt like I was getting myself in contention quite a lot and not being able to finish tournaments off. Not that it's the same thing because there's a bit more pressure attached to a Sunday whenever you're trying to win a golf tournament than when you're going out on a Friday afternoon. Hopefully it's just one of those things and I'm able to turn it around tomorrow. Q. When you talked about no expectations for the first round, that said, do you expect to do what you do today? Is it a point where you're surprised if you don't? RORY McILROY: No, what I do, I expect to stick to my game plan and I expect to hit good shots and hit good putts, but there's no expectations on score. If I can hit the good shots and the solid shots and hole some putts, then hopefully it adds up to a good number at the end of the day. But really no expectations going out, just sticking to your game plan. Okay, first hole, 2-iron off the tee, hit it at the left trap. Second shot, okay, winds off the right, hole it in there -- whatever it is. That's what I expect to do. I don't expect to go out and shoot low numbers. But at the same time I know if I do stick to that game plan and I execute it the right way, the low numbers are there for me to shoot. Q. When you had your sit-down with Jack Nicklaus, was that the subject that you talked about at all? RORY McILROY: Not particularly. He did mention it. I didn't mention it to him. He mentioned it to me. "How the hell can you shoot 63 and then 78?" No, I think what we talked about was just holding a round together. And he was never afraid to make a change in the middle of the round, whether to swing or strategy, to get it back on track. We talked a little bit about that but not specifically about my previous struggles on Fridays. Q. What do you do to unwind after a day like this? You've been in this position before, you've led the major on the first day. Is there anything that you do, a ritual you do? And will you do anything different to try and make it feel like it's not Friday tomorrow? RORY McILROY: No, I'll go back. I'm staying in a nice house this week with a big back garden. So I might go out and play a bit of football. Or I'll go to the gym at some point, I'm sure, and just sort of relax that way. I'm sure I'll catch a little bit of the golf on TV, as well, see how the guys are doing this afternoon. I don't really have a set way of doing things. I'll have some dinner tonight with my parents and a couple of friends, and that's really it. And tomorrow morning I'll do the same thing. I'll probably watch the golf for a little bit to see where some of the pin positions are. And then just get ready to go out and play again, but no set routine or ritual. Just sort of take it as it comes. Q. Would you say your second shot on 2 was the best of the day? Could you talk through it, if it is? And also you enjoyed some good luck with lies on the way around, did you feel you were sort of paying for that when you got the bunker at the last? RORY McILROY: Yeah, the second shot of the 2nd was one of the best shots of the day. I laid myself back a little bit. I had taken 3-wood off that tee previously in the practice rounds, but I just thought the ground seemed a little firmer today. So I hit 2-iron off the tee, just to make sure I was laying up short of those bunkers. And had like 190, 191 to the pin and hit a really nice shot in there. And that's the advantage sometimes of having a high ball flight in links when there's no wind, you're able to bring it down like that and stop it close to the pin. And I did get fortunate. I got a couple of good breaks. A great bounce off the tee shot on 14. And then, yeah, I mean I think luck and bad bounces and good bounces, it all evens out at the end of the week. I'm definitely not sitting up here thinking -- I'd say more on the side of a little lucky rather than unlucky. You hit it in these bunkers and it is a penalty. And I took my medicine on 18, and could only get it out to 20 feet and try to make a putt from there. Q. You said you used the driver on the 5th and 7th, did you use it on the back nine, as well? And also what is it about this course that kind of suits your eye most? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I used it on the 5th and the 7th, and then I used it on 16 and 18. And in hindsight I probably should have used it on 17, as well. I like that the bunkers sort of face you. It gives you some sort of definition off the tee. You can sort of work your shots off the bunkers a little bit. There's quite a few holes on the back nine that are right-to-left doglegs, which suits my natural shot shape. And I don't feel like you're too restricted in your approach shots. The greens are quite generous. They're quite flat. You can be quite aggressive with your second shots. And obviously I like to play the game that way. There's a few good things about the golf course and it sets up well for me. Q. You mentioned being a Manchester United fan. There's another big press conference in about 15 minutes. Would you be interested to hear what Louis van Gaal has to say? RORY McILROY: Yeah, for sure. I've caught a couple of Ryan Giggs's press conferences over the last ten days or so. It will be good to see what van Gaal has to say and who he's thinking of bringing in or any sort of changes he's going to make. I think with United not having to worry about Champions League or anything this year, which isn't a good thing, but I think they'll have a good chance to win the league even again. I hope. MIKE WOODCOCK: Thanks very much. Very well played. RORY McILROY: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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