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ABU DHABI HSBC GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPJanuary 15, 2015Rory McIlroyABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Q. Good score, Rory, 5‑under; a bit slow, your front nine, and then all of a sudden you put the gas in there and you started to make some birdies. How did you make that happen? RORY McILROY: I was just trying to keep up with this guy. He was make something birdies. But on a nice little run around the middle of the round, and you know, from looking like I might make bogey on the third hole with that dodgy lie just over the bunker, having a chance to shoot 6‑under on the last was a nice finish. So I'll need to do a lot more of that over the next few days if I want to have a chance to win. I know I'll need to hit more fairways, as well. I didn't drive the ball particularly well today and something I need to do a little bit better if I want to have a chance. Q. On 3, you pulled off a Seve Ballesteros miracle shot and then holed the putt. How much confidence did you take from that moment? RORY McILROY: It's definitely a boost. Not a shot I would practice too much, that's for sure. But from looking like you're going to make a bogey to making a birdie that gives you a little bit of momentum and you can go on from there and luckily I was able to make a few birdies after that. Q. Fantastic 2014 season, nice break, a little bit of practice. How about first day back at school did, marks out of ten? RORY McILROY: The result was good. 67 was pleasing. How I got there in the end wasn't quite as pleasing. I didn't drive the ball particularly well today, and around this golf course with the rough the way it is, I know I'm going to have to do a better job of that over the weekend. To get off to a good start at 67, only one bogey; it's not a bad way to start the year. Q. Short game looked pretty sharp? RORY McILROY: Yeah, short game is really good. Hit in a couple of bunkers on my front nine and got those up‑and‑down. You know, there's a couple times on the back side where I need to get up‑and‑down, and it was good, yeah. It doesn't really feel like I've taken a few weeks off. Feel like I've came back the way I left off and hopefully that's the way it's going to be for the next few months. Q. I know you're not telling us your goals for 2015, but tell us what you were talking about with Rickie Fowler because you're chatting all the way around. RORY McILROY: Yeah, chatting about sort of schedule for this year, a little bit about cars, about everything. We live quite close to each other in Florida, so we are always hanging around and seeing each other and there's a good group of guys down there that we all play together and practice together. So just pretty much about that stuff. Q. Kick each other on golf‑wise? RORY McILROY: He was kicking me on today for sure. I was trying to keep up with him. I didn't want to let him get too far ahead of me. Looked like he was going to shoot quite a low one and looked like I was in neutral and needed to get something going. Just wanted to try to stay as close to him as possible and thankfully I was able to do that. Q. Your thoughts in 5‑under to start? RORY McILROY: It was good, to shoot 67 first round of the year is nice. How I got to that 67 wasn't quite as glamorous at times, but yeah, there's a couple of things that I need to work on if I want to have a chance to win this tournament. I need to drive the ball better, for sure, and I missed a few opportunities on the greens, as well. But started to get everything to come together on the back nine, and happy with 67. Q. Is that just the nature of the first round of a new year? RORY McILROY: I think it is. What I was really pleased about was my short game. I felt like I got the ball up‑and‑down for the most part. Only made one mistake. I made one bogey on 17 and that was it. So apart from that, it was quite a good day. Q. Feeling the benefit of the preparation in Dubai? RORY McILROY: Yeah, definitely. It's something that I've always done and something I feel like I need. I need those seven or ten days of practice to get back into it, and it's always‑‑ you never really know how you're going to start, especially the first time with a card in your hand for a few weeks, so thankfully I birdied the first hole and that settled me down a little bit and then went from there. Q. I know it's only the first day but it's kind of a nights position to be in the place that you are? RORY McILROY: Definitely, yeah. It gives us a little bit more of‑‑ it will give the group a bit more of a buzz going out there tomorrow afternoon knowing that we are close to the lead or have a chance to get close to the lead going into the weekend. So always something to play for. Q. First day back, did it feel almost like you had not been away? RORY McILROY: The way I scored today was very pleasing. I sort of got the most out of my round from being even par on my 12th hole, looking I could go 1‑over par to shooting 5‑under was very nice. Wasn't quite as good in terms of ball‑striking as it has been on the range the past week, but very happy with 5‑under and it's a great score to build on. Q. Is it fair to say that what happened on the third, your 12th, was the kind of catalyst shot? It was something you wouldn't practice very often, maybe you could just describe what confronted you there, because it really was a magical moment. RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's not something I've ever‑‑ you get these awkward lies from time to time on the golf course and it's something that you never practice. So yeah, I had one foot in the bunker, one foot out. I had about 95 yards to the pin and it was just a very awkward stance and awkward shot. You know, hoping to make par, looking like making bogey and ended up making birdie. It was giving me that little bit of momentum that I needed to play well for the final few holes. Q. And the putter really got hot at that point. RORY McILROY: It did, yeah. I learned a little bit over the first few holes. I felt like I was hitting good putts. They were just miss‑reads and I missed a couple on the high side and I over‑corrected and missed one on the low side but finally figured it out over the last few holes which was nice. Q. How beneficial was it to be playing with Rickie Fowler with whom you seemed to be joined at the hip in many respects, and having him there as someone to chase for much of the round? RORY McILROY: Yeah, it was definitely helpful, because I think I needed something like that. I saw him making a lot of birdies around the turn, and I was struggling to get anything going. So when he got to 3‑under, I think I got to 1‑under; and he would birdie; I would birdie. I felt like I just needed to hang on his coattails there for a little bit. It was nice to see him playing well, and it was a good little bit of inspiration for me. Q. And it is fantastic for the game to have two young players such as you two, who are starting to fashion something of a rivalry? RORY McILROY: A little bit, yeah. I mean, I think we saw the beginnings of it last year with The Open and the PGA and The Ryder Cup. So hopefully there's a lot more to come. Rickie just turned 26; I'm 25, so hopefully there's a lot of good golf left in us. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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