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WELLS FARGO CHAMPIONSHIPMay 16, 2015Rory McIlroyCHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA MARK STEVENS: We'd like to welcome Rory McIlroy. Rory, thanks for taking the time to come in to talk to everybody. Pretty impressive 61 today to break your own record here at Wells Fargo Championship. Kind of talk about the round today and your thoughts about the round and we'll have some questions. RORY MCILROY: Yeah. Obviously really happy with how I played today. You know, I said yesterday I needed to be a little, little better with my iron play and I feel like I was. Gave myself plenty of looks for birdies and, you know, I just feel like it's one of these courses that I can get on a roll on. I feel like the flow of the golf course with some of the short par-4s and the par-5s you can really get some momentum going. So, you know, got it going again today and really nice to break my own course record here. But, yeah, you know, there was a couple really things that pleased me today, my iron play and then how I putted. I rolled the ball really well which I haven't been doing for the past couple of weeks so to see a lot of putts drop like that was really nice. MARK STEVENS: Questions. Q. Rory, you kind of addressed this yesterday but going back five years when you got your first win, what part of your game is better now than it was five years ago? RORY MCILROY: Mentally. You know, I said this yesterday, mentally I'm so much better. I'm at staying patient, not being afraid to go low, not really -- you know, my mindset or my demeanor doesn't change no matter what situation I'm in in a tournament or on the golf course. I think that's the big difference. Five years of experience, five years of being out here, competing, winning Majors, losing Majors, you know, that's the thing that really is the difference between who I am now and who I was five years ago. Q. Rory, you said on TV when you started thinking about 59 was on 13. RORY MCILROY: Yeah. When I birdied 13 I got to 8-under par. I had two really good chances, I felt like two eagles chances really on 14 and 15. Birdied those so went to 10-under and that meant needed to birdie the last three holes. Made a great birdie on 16 and then, you know, if I could take any shot back today it was that 7-iron on 17. I just bailed out right. So, I was a little disappointed with not finishing off the way I wanted to but, you know, still a great round. But 59 was in my mind as soon as the putt dropped on 13. Q. Rory, I know you're a sports fan. Other guys in other sports talk about being in the zone. I assume that's what it felt like today. Can you just describe what it's like when you're playing? RORY MCILROY: Yeah. I mean it's hard to explain, how to describe. Every shot you look at you visualize it perfectly and you -- it's all a mental thing. It's all -- you're picturing good shots, you're visualizing the lines on putts and you're not getting in your own way. You're just letting it happen and that's what I said about flow. I feel like there's a great flow to this golf course and it allows to sort of get out of your own way and I've got great memories here and, you know, I feel like I think I probably birdied every hole on this golf course so there's no reason why I shouldn't do it again, but it's a cool feeling. You never quite know when you're going to get into it or get into the zone or -- but when it happens, you have to realize it and then that's when you just go with it, and I'm lucky enough that I've been in that frame of mind quite a bit so, you know, I know when it's happening and I sort of know how to handle it. Q. You played a lot of golf in your life and lot of rounds. Was this your best round and, if not, what was your best round you've ever played? RORY MCILROY: It's not the lowest score I've ever shot but it's -- it's right up there. I shot 61 at Portrush when I was an amateur and that was a good round. Actually had a putt for 59 at home just before the Masters at the Bear's Club, left it short. But there's been quite a lot of rounds where I've got it going but that was definitely up there today. That's my lowest round on the PGA TOUR and yeah, it's funny that's happened here again. This is a golf course that just sets up really well for me. Q. What did you do to sharpen up your iron play between yesterday and today and was there anything you talked about with Dave Stockton earlier in the week you used today? RORY MCILROY: I just aimed at the flags today. It's simple as that. I was sort of aiming at a lot of middles of greens and trying to work the ball into the hole. I was taking dead aim a little bit more today. With the putting, just that one little thought that Dave and I talked about at the start of the week. That's really been it. Yeah. Just again, it's one of those days where you're visualizing the line and you're getting it right all the time and you've got good speed and everything fell in. It was nice. Q. Rory, you said you learned to be patient but you're also not afraid to go low. Do those two every clash at all? RORY MCILROY:    Sometimes. Sometimes, especially on -- a prime example last year at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, I'm sort of going along and happy with even, 1-under, something like that, and then Kaymer goes out and shoots 10-under for the first two days. Sometimes your patience isn't rewarded just because someone gets hot and someone sort of separates themselves from the field. Apart from that, I looked at the scores today in the morning and saw that there were some low ones out there. Good friend of mine Scott Pinckney shot 66. Stewart Cink was maybe 6-under through 10. Justin Thomas was, I guess, going, 4-under through 5. I knew there were scores out there to be had. And I realized that early and just, you know, got a little bit more aggressive and it paid off. Q. Rory, ultimately the goal is leading at the end of the day tomorrow. But how special is it for you to know that you own the course record and the 54 hole mark here? RORY MCILROY: It's nice. I guess you know the 54 hole record is a new one. Doesn't feel any different. I had the course record I guess Brendon de Jonge tied it a couple years ago. Yeah, it's nice. To go out there and play that sort of golf it gives you so much confidence and there's no reason why I shouldn't go out there tomorrow and at least play like that again. I'm not sure if I'm going to shoot as low a score but at least play like that. Q. Just to clarify, clearly you haven't been putting as well as you would have liked. Does that go all the way back to the Match Play? RORY MCILROY: Yeah. Yeah. I didn't feel like I putted all that well at the Match Play but I holed putts at the right times. I guess that's more just to do with the mental side of it and drawing on some memories from previous matches or situations where you've been in a position and you just need to hole it. I think having those positive, positive memories and reinforcement always helps. But, yeah, I didn't feel like I putted particularly well at the Match Play but I just -- I did enough, did enough to get buy each match. Q. Can you wait for the 27 team PGA? RORY MCILROY: Looking forward to Whistling Straits this year. I played well there a few years ago. It was nice that a Mayor is coming here in a couple year's time. Q. I was going to ask you what would it mean sitting here tomorrow night as the first two-time Wells Fargo Championship Champion going to Wentworth next week as defending champion and then your own Irish Open the week after? RORY MCILROY: There's a lot to think about. It would just feel great to get another win over in the States here before getting on that plane to London on Sunday night, my 3rd victory of the season. Two of those tournaments will have been -- I won in Dubai for the second time this year. Hopefully tomorrow if everything goes right I can win here for the second time again. It would mean a lot. I felt -- that's the reason I added this tournament to my schedule. I originally wasn't going to play because, you know, five weeks is a lot of golf but I thought I play so well here, I love the place, I'm playing well, there's no reason not to go. So it's, for the most part or at least for now that decision has paid off. MARK STEVENS: Thanks for your time, Rory. Best of luck tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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