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ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIPOctober 2, 2014Rory McIlroyCARNOUSTIE & KINGSBARNS, SCOTLAND Q. Back from The Ryder Cup after that victory, how did it feel out there for you besides being freezing? RORY McILROY: A little flat if I'm honest. Obviously you know with the crowds and everything that we were playing in front of last week to come back here, obviously seems a little quiet out there. But it was good fun to get to play with my dad. It was a nice round of golf. Wish I had played a little bit better and made a few more birdies, but hopefully that will happen over the next couple of days. Q. What age did you start? Do you remember exactly when you started to hit it past your father off the tee? RORY McILROY: Probably started to hit it past him when I was about 14 I think, something like that. I think the first time I beat him was when I was 12 or 13. I started hitting it past him when I was probably, yeah, about a year older than that. Q. He's a good man, but you play on the toughest golf course and you can go to Kingsbarns tomorrow. Ho much in your mind is winning this championship, or is it just something after The Ryder Cup and everything you've achieved, do you just want to ease back into your season, or do you have it in your heart burning to win every week? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I want to win every week, I do. I want to play well this week and I want to give myself a chance. I know the weather isn't supposed to be great tomorrow, so maybe just try and hang in there at Kingsbarns and stick in and try and shoot a decent number. Then try and play well over the weekend at St. Andrews like I usually do and we'll see what happens. It wasn't the best score out there today for me, but as you said, got the hardest course out of the way, so we'll see what happens over the next few days. Q. This golf championship gave you your start on Tour, if I'm not mistaken. You had a good finish at St. Andrews on a Sunday a few years back, and you got your card. How special and how close are those memories of what happened here to get you underway in your career? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I mean, as you said, any time that I come back to St. Andrews, I always think back to that, and very appreciative of the Dunhill Links Championship and of Johann Rupert for giving me an invitation here in 2007 to allow me to have a chance to get my Tour card, and I was able to do that, which was a life‑changing moment, it really was, to get your European Tour card. I was 18 years old at that point and didn't know what path my career was heading on, and all of a sudden you get your European Tour card and you're off and running. This is a championship I'll always have fond memories of. Q. It's obviously a treat to get to play with your dad during a round of golf, but you weren't expecting to have a dog join you for the last hole. RORY McILROY: I think that's one of the nice things about this championship. Any golf course that you go play, whether it's here or Kingsbarns or St. Andrews, people always have their dogs with them, and I'm a big dog person and I love dogs. Especially some of the waits on the tee boxes, it's nice to have moments like that on the 18th tee. Q. Were you worried he was going to chase after your drive? RORY McILROY: No, not at all. Q. I guess a contrast; not too many people around the first tee as you teed off compared with last week. RORY McILROY: No, exactly. Coming off the back of The Ryder Cup and you're used to playing in front of so many people and then you come here this week and it's obviously a little quieter. But it was nice. It was nice to play with Dad and nice to play with Charl. Charl is one of my closest friends out here on Tour. It was a nice day. I didn't play, you know, particularly well, but I've got three days to try and make up for that. I still had a lot of fun out there which was the main thing. Q. Given the circumstances of this, is it easier to take a disappointing start by your standards because of those circumstances? RORY McILROY: Yeah, it is, definitely. Yeah, if it had not been off the back of what happened last week, it obviously would have been a little harder to swallow. But with everything that went on last week, a 73 isn't disastrous, and as I said, I've got three more days. I've got Kingsbarns tomorrow to try and post a better number. The weather's not supposed to be great tomorrow, either, so just try and hang in there and then go to St. Andrews at the weekend, a golf course that I've played well on before and try and shoot a couple of good numbers there. Q. Can you just explain the k 9 influence on the final tee, what happened there? RORY McILROY: Yeah, we had a bit of a wait on the 118th tee box and there's this lovely black lab just sitting on the left of it. Yeah, just something to, I don't know, pass the time a little I guess. Got my doggy head cover out for him to play with for a little bit which was good fun. Yeah, it's nice. It's always nice whether we play here at Carnoustie or Kingsbarns or St. Andrews, a lot of people have their dogs out with them on the golf course, and any time I go past one, I try and give it a bit of a pat or a stroke or whatever. Big dog person, I can't really‑‑ I'd love to have one but obviously I kind of travel way too much. Be a bit of a hassle to travel with a dog every week. Yeah, maybe in the future I can get one again. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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