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ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIPOctober 1, 2014Rory McIlroyCARNOUSTIE & KINGSBARNS, SCOTLAND NEIL AHERN: Thank you everyone for joining us this morning. Rory, thank you for joining us this morning at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Many congratulations on your victory last week with Europe. Must difficult to come down from the euphoria from that and come into such a big event like this. RORY McILROY: Yeah, it is, obviously with everything that went on last week, I probably couldn't have picked a better week to either play after The Ryder Cup, play on three of my favourite golf courses in the world and be able to walk around with my dad and my best friend, as well, who is on the bag this week. It's a nice way to sort of try and come down after really what as such an incredible week last week. Looking forward to it, and obviously still on a bit of a high from The Ryder Cup but looking forward to get to go play some golf with my dad and hopefully continue the good golf that I have played over the past few months, so have another chance to win a tournament here. NEIL AHERN: You've had great form here at this tournament, and you mentioned you had a life‑changing week, as well. It means a lot to you to be at this tournament‑‑ RORY McILROY: It does. Back in 2007, this was the tournament that I got my European Tour card, and it was, it was a life‑changing week for me, a young 18‑year‑old, just starting out in his professional career, and to, I finished third that week, and that basically earned me enough money to get my European Tour card for the next season. So I've always been very grateful to this tournament and very grateful to Johan Rupert for extending me an invitation to play that year and allowing me to go on and achieve what I did and get my European Tour card. So I've always been very loyal to this tournament and it's one that I've always enjoyed, and as I said before, it's a pleasure to be able to come back here and play a few rounds with my dad and really enjoy the week. Q. It's been a full several weeks since a stroke‑play tournament, how keen are you‑‑ RORY McILROY: I am, I feel good. It's a tournament that I have played well at here at the Dunhill, but I've never quite been able to win. I finished third, as I said, that year in 2007, finished second in 2009 and finished second again in 2011. I think it would be nice, especially it's my dad's 55th birthday on Sunday, so hopefully we can make the team event and be able to walk around St. Andrews on his birthday and me have a chance to win the tournament, as well, would be something that would be very special. Yeah, it's been several weeks, too long in my book. Q. Can you talk us through the timeline of the kilt on Sunday evening? Whose idea was it? RORY McILROY: Honestly, honestly, I don't remember (laughter). The time line sort of gets a bit fuzzy about midnight. I sort of slipped out of The European Team around ten o'clock to join my friends and parents in the bar and I got a text from Keegan Bradley about 10.30 that was very funny, basically just inviting me to the U.S. Team room. So I said, yeah, I'll go in. I went to the U.S. Team room and there's two, like, security guys at the door and said, you know, I'm here to see the guys who invited me in. And the guy said, "Oh, I'm not sure they are letting anyone in at the minute." I said, "What are you talking about?" He said, "Let me go in and check." So I'm standing here at the U.S. Team room door for five minutes, just felt so strange. He said, "No, they are not letting anyone in yet." I said, "Really?" He said, yeah, Patrick Reed said‑‑ I was like, Patrick Reed (laughter). So I went, fine, went back to the European Team room and as I got back to the European Team room, a couple of the U.S. guys in there, so they had obviously planned it or whatever, had a good laugh about it. We all piled into the U.S. Team room and had a good time with everyone. It was a great way to cap off what was obviously a great week. Q. There's a lot of talk already about who should be the next Ryder Cup Captain, what are your thoughts and who would you like to see be the next Ryder Cup Captain? RORY McILROY: Yeah, obviously there's been a few names thrown about there. I've said with The Ryder Cup being in America, I feel that Darren Clarke would be the perfect man to lead the team there, just because he has such a great reputation everywhere, but especially in the States, the fans really love him there and he's got a good rapport with everyone. I think he would be the right man to do it next time at Hazeltine. Q. You've been on three winning Ryder Cup teams now. How does each one compare and what is the last memory you take away from Gleneagles? RORY McILROY: All three wins have been very different to be to be honest. Celtic Manor was sort of a unique Ryder Cup that we had to combine two sessions in that one day on Sunday and then play the singles on Monday. But yeah, obviously it was great, great memories, great experience of a rookie, my first Ryder Cup. And then Medinah that Sunday, it was one of the best experiences I've ever had in golf, just to be a part of that come back and witness it all, how it all unfolded; me nearly missing my tee time, all that sort of stuff. That was exhilarating. That was thrilling. And last week it, was just European dominance, really. Especially in the foursomes. That was the key for us last week. We played so well in the foursomes and that was a format of The Ryder Cup that we historically had not done that well in. So to beat the American 7‑1 in those two sessions was huge for us. Of all The Ryder Cups, this is probably the one that I enjoyed the most, that I embraced the most, and I felt like I played some of my best golf on Saturday and Sunday. It was really enjoyable and obviously Paul McGinley did a great job with the team, got a great team spirit in the team room and it obviously showed out on the golf course. Q. Certainly you acted like the world No. 1 this week and performed like it. Did you see a difference from the two years before? RORY McILROY: I felt the difference, yeah. I felt like it was my time‑‑ and I said to Stephen before The Ryder Cup started, I said it was time for me to step up and be one of the leaders of the team, especially after the season that I've had and being world No. 1. I needed to go out there and set an example and lead by example, and just happy I was able to do that on Sunday. Q. You were speaking to Tom Watson in the middle of the fairway. Can you share what you said? RORY McILROY: I just said to Tom, it was great to spend a little bit of time with him and Hilary, his wife, last week. I've got a pretty good relationship with Tom. I've played a few practise rounds with him. I remember playing with him the first two rounds of the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in 2010. Played a practise round with him at the Masters a couple years ago and really enjoyed that. So I just said it was great ‑‑ and that's what the Ryder Cup is all about. Okay, it's obviously about the competitiveness and the rivalry but about getting to know people a little bit better and spending time with people. I just said it was really great to be able to spend a little bit more time with him this week. He just said to me, great playing, and we were outplayed and you guys deserve it. It was nice. Q. As great as Tiger started his career, Ryder Cup was always the event where he never could get it going and it was almost a tiny black mark on his record. Are you aware of that and is it important to you in that regard to be winning Majors and be world No. 1 and also show it in a team event? RORY McILROY: It is. The Ryder Cup, it is important to me. You know, personally, my record in The Ryder Cup is important to me. I haven't‑‑ the three Ryder Cups, I haven't been beaten in the singles, which is something that is‑‑ I'd love to keep that record going throughout my career. I think Monty was never beaten in the singles in a Ryder Cup. So that would be something I would love to emulate. And I slightly improved my record at The Ryder Cup this year. I lost one spot, a couple of halves and a couple of wins. You know, at the age of 25, to have won three Ryder Cups and four Majors is something I'm very proud of, eight years younger than anyone else. So that's something that I hope I can continue. I spoke to Paul McGinley yesterday, and he's been involved in six Ryder Cups, and he's going to retire from The Ryder Cup unbeaten. And I said, I don't even think I'll be able to emulate that at the end of my career‑‑ I'd love to. I'd love to be able to help Europe win as many of these things as I can, but I'm sure it won't all go our way in the next 20 years. Q. Eight years younger than who? RORY McILROY: Tom Watson. He was 33. And then Gene Sarazen was 35. Q. How do you know this stuff? You're 25. RORY McILROY: Twitter. (Laughter). Q. Your captain said that Sir Alex had advised you not to drink too much and soak up the moment on Sunday night so you remember it‑‑ did you‑‑ RORY McILROY: Definitely not. I remember what happened on the golf course, that's the most important thing. These moments don't come around very often. We only have a chance to celebrate as part of a team once every two years, and that's something that's very special and something that we don't get to do as individual sports people. So any time you do have a chance to do that, I think it's important that you take advantage of it. So we all had a great time. We had a good night, and you know, it won't be until two years' time again that I might be able to do again. So you have to make the most of it. Q. Is this the most sustained‑‑ you've had the peaks and troughs in that period? RORY McILROY: I've had the peaks and troughs, but if you look at the past seven years, they have been good, and everything that's happened, with the highs and lows, to have the record that I have, I'm very proud of that. Yeah, I'd like to put a few years on the board where there's a little more consistency and the standard of golf stays at the same level for a long period of time, and that's what I'm working towards. I feel like this season I started to do that. I don't think I finished outside the Top‑25 on the PGA TOUR; and to get a few wins and be challenging all the time, and if I don't win, I'm still in the Top‑10. That's something that I feel like I've gotten better at. I didn't feel I played well at THE TOUR Championship and I didn't really give Billy much of a challenge on Sunday but was able to finish second. Those are the sort of things, they are not wins, but they are still progressions and they are still things that I'm trying to get better at. I hope that as my career goes on, I can get a little more consistent and show that sustained period of good golf. Q. Talking about getting to know people better at The Ryder Cup, is Stephen Gallacher one; and he'll be disappointed he didn't contribute a point, but what did he bring to the team room? RORY McILROY: Definitely, I've spend a lot of time with Stevie in the last two years, played with him in the final round this year when he won at Dubai. He deserves to be on the team. Probably a little unfortunate that he didn't get to play more. But he brought‑‑ it was great to have a Scotsman on the team for a start, and he was great in the team room. He gets along with everyone. He's really just a nice, genuine, solid guy, lovely family, and it would be great to see him on the team at Hazeltine. My place isn't guaranteed in two years' time and I have to make the team, as well, but it would be great to see Stephen there, as well. Q. You enjoy competing with your dad and obviously in this tournament, but to be here starting the preparation for The Open next year‑‑ RORY McILROY: I haven't played here in a couple years, so I know a couple of the new bunkers on a few holes‑‑ I'm not sure of any new tee boxes, but yeah, it's nice to get a little look around here before next year. St. Andrews has always been a place that I've been very comfortable on and played well on. So I guess I can't think of a better golf course to come to to try to defend The Open Championship than here. I always said I felt like St. Andrews was my best chance to win an Open Championship. Obviously I proved myself wrong this year, which is nice, and it would be great to come back and defend it here. Q. Having played three Ryder Cups, you'll know exactly what it takes and the attributes it takes to captain a team. Is that something you see yourself developing, even though you're still young at the game, but that you could do it in the future? RORY McILROY: I think so. I'd love to one day. I'd love to one day captain The European Team and try and lead them to victory. And if I do, I will take a lot out of the way Paul captained the team last week. I know Paul took a lot out of the way Bernhard Langer captained the team in 2004 and he always had a lot of admiration for the way he did it. Yeah, one day. It might be 20, 25 years away from now, but it would be great to do. It would be a great honor. Q. What's the goals now for the rest of the year, five events left? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I've got this, two events in China, Dubai and Australia. So some big events coming up. As I said, I would love to have a chance to win here on Sunday, especially having my dad alongside me. Looking forward to three weeks off. I'm going to go to Bermuda and play in the Grand Slam. I've come close a couple of times in China at BMW and HSBC and haven't quite been able to get the job done there. It would be great to add my second World Golf Championships of the season along with two majors, as well, and Dubai is always a place I've enjoyed and looking forward to getting back down to Australia to defend that title. There's a lot to look forward to till the end of the season. I'd love to win a couple of those events, at least and I feel like I'm playing well enough to do that. But I'm not going to put any pressure on myself. I'm going to go out with the main objective just to enjoy the last couple of months of the season. Still practise pretty hard and work hard, but at the same time, it's been a long season. There's been a lot of intense tournaments, and it's sort of the point of the season where I'm letting it wind down a little bit. But Race to Dubai is a big goal of mine, to try and win that again. I've got a pretty healthy lead at the minute and if I do well this week, hopefully I can make that insurmountable over the next few weeks and go from there. Q. The PGA TOUR Player of the Year is being announced today; can you give us thoughts on what that would mean to you if you were to be announced? RORY McILROY: Well, if I was to win, it would mean a lot. It would be my second one in three years, which is something that means a lot, and I think a player vote, or being voted Player of the Year by your peers is something that's important. You know, they are the guys that you play with week‑in and week‑out and the guys you are trying to beat week‑in and week‑out. And if they appreciate what you've done over the year and see the hard work you've put in and the golf that you've played and think that that's been the best of the season, that's something that means a lot to me. You know, hopefully that will be the second one in three years, and I'd like to win a lot more in my career, as well and I feel like I can. But you know, it's always nice and I guess just makes me realize that even the last year wasn't the year I wanted, the last three or four years have been very, very good. You know, it gives me even more motivation to go on and work harder and try to win more tournaments, more Majors and be involved in more Ryder Cups like last week. NEIL AHERN: ‑‑thank you very much, Rory. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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