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ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY MASTERCARDMarch 19, 2015Rory McIlroyORLANDO, FLORIDA Q. Wrapping up Morgan Hoffmann at the top of the board, 6-under par. He's four shots clear of this man, the No. 1 player in the world, Rory McIlroy. You made a deal you wanted to come here and pay homage to Mr. Palmer. What did you make of the day and the golf course, the whole experience? RORY MCILROY: It was good. I felt like I was seeing good signs out there with my game. I hit a lot of good shots. I was trying to stay as patient as possible and go ahead and hit good shots and not doing anything with them, making a lot of pars. Little disappointed with especially the 16th hole but positive signs and get out there again tomorrow and try and shoot something lower. Q. You never in your PGA TOUR career hit all 18 greens in regulation. You did hit 17 greens in regulation. You told me a couple days ago you worked on your game last week during the week off to get ready for this week and then, of course, a few weeks to go to Augusta and try to win the Green Jacket. Did you see the progress out there while you were competing today? RORY MCILROY: Definitely. Even I recognized that I hit a lot of greens. Just a lot more quality shots than at Doral. Conditions are obviously a little better as well. Seeing signs of my game that I like and another three days of hopefully solid golf and try and get into contention and that will put me in a good place going into Augusta. Q. This being Arnold Palmer's event, he always comes into the booth and talks. He was really bragging on you and the fact that you guys are going to go in the clubhouse here and have dinner tonight. What do you think that experience will be like? RORY MCILROY: I'm excited for it. I'm really looking forward to it. I've been looking forward to it for a few weeks I was going to be able to spend a little bit of time in his company so after I do all this stuff I actually got to go do a drug test and after that I'll have some dinner with Arnold. Q. Safe to say if the putter would have been a little bit better this could have been really good? RORY MCILROY: It could have been much better. I was just trying to stay as patient as possible. I know I was hitting a lot of greens, giving myself a lot of chances. But I guess when the greens are like they are you're going to have to stay patient because you're going to hit good putts that don't go in and I felt like I didn't really trust myself, you know, with some of the putts that are there today, I didn't trust the reads and just was sort of in two minds quite a lot, so try and get a little better mentally over the putts over the next couple days and you never know. Q. Even on the par-5s today that's got to be pretty frustrating. RORY MCILROY: That's really what you need around here. It's the sort of golf course that if you can play the par-5s well, and there's a little bit of strategy involved for the rest of the holes. It's not like anyone is going super low right there. If you can play the par-5s at all it's a big advantage to play them. Even par today wasn't what I was looking for. Again, hopefully I can do better on those over the next few days. Q. Any question about going for it on 16 or was that just a go all the way? RORY MCILROY: No. I had 180-something to the front. It was nothing. It wasn't a great lie but because the ball was below my feet I was expecting it to squirt out a little right. I was aiming on the hazard line and thinking it was going to come to the right and came out straight. Q. What you've worked on it seems like -- RORY MCILROY: It was. I was hitting a lot of shots I really like, turning the ball over a lot easier. So, there's a lot of the game that's right there. I'm pleased with that, lot of positives. Just trying to cleanup a few areas that I didn't do so well today and it could be really good week. Q. How are things with Augusta? RORY MCILROY: I've got two weeks from here until Augusta to practice my putting and get acquainted with the greens that are of a similar speed. So, it will be nice to putt well here to get myself back into the tournament but if I keep hitting good shots like I did today, then hopefully the putts will fall. I just need to stay as patient as I can. Q. Rory, I know you've got your hands full with the other guys who are here. As a competitor, do you miss Tiger when he's not here, when he's not at an event? RORY MCILROY: I mean honestly you don't really see him much. You can feel the buzz whenever he's around or if he tees off or he's on the range or whatever, but I mean it's hard to say I miss him but I feel like, you know, the PGA TOUR events are just that little bit better whenever he's around. Q. Were you pleased with your round at the tournament? Did it play the way you thought it was going to play? RORY MCILROY: I thought the greens were much softer today than yesterday. They must have put a lot of water on them. Yeah. Pretty happy. I could have done a lot of things better but there was a lot -- still a lot of positives to take from it and I've got three more days to put some good runs together. Q. Was that just your putting to cleanup or something else? RORY MCILROY: You know, I feel like the par-5s, I mean I hit it sort of pin high right on 4 and didn't get it up and down. You hit it to the front of the green on 12, didn't get it up and down. It's just tidying up that area and the short game and if I can do that and just be a little bit more efficient where I'm putting myself in positions to score and opportunities to make birdies and that's just what I need to cleanup a little bit. Q. The stuff you worked on with Michael before you came, did you feel like that translated to what you were looking for today? RORY MCILROY: Yeah, definitely. I hit the ball much better. Was turning the ball over from right to left much easier. Just more in control of my ball flight, more in control of the shot shape I wanted. Lot of stuff that we worked on, you know, I saw a lot of positives there today. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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