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TURKISH AIRLINES OPEN

October 29, 2015

Rory McIlroy

Antalya, Turkey

Q. Last time you saw one of those drop for how long, do you think?
RORY McILROY: I saw -- I actually putted pretty well at THE TOUR Championship, so it hasn't been that long. I went most of the week at Fry's not really seeing a putt of more than ten feet drop. Seems like awhile.

Q. Happy with the putting today?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I felt it was good. I held a lot of putts I should have held. I missed a couple chances, but for the most part I felt like it was good. The thing that pleased me most was the putts that I didn't hole, at least I still hit good putts. I felt like they started on the right line and they were decent speed. That's all you can really do after that. If it goes in, it goes in. If it doesn't, then just you're not going to hole everything.

Q. Is that technical? You were working on the green and I was watching the other day. It's not a mental thing -- it's a technical thing.
RORY McILROY: No, it's not a technical thing. It's a mental thing.

Q. Where did you play conservative that you maybe now that you know the course better --
RORY McILROY: I think I had a good game plan. I don't think I really changed anything. As I said I think hitting the ball in the fairway is premium this week because we're playing lift, clean and place. So the more you can hit the ball in the fairway, the more control you're going to give yourself.

Q. On 9?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I mean, the ninth hole is a 3-wood or a 5-wood off the tee. Like Danny hit driver off 17 and I hit 4-iron. Things like that.

Danny can see that the shape of that hole a lot better because it's a little left-to-right and he likes to hit the driver that way. I just see hitting a 4-iron into the flat part of the fairway and went in with a full wedge. Different guys see holes differently I guess.

Q. How often do you practise a left-handed shot?
RORY McILROY: Not a lot but I seem to have to play them more often than I want to. I really don't but as long as I don't sort of break my wrists, and I sort of keep like straight arms, I have good enough hand-eye coordination that I'm pretty sure I'm not going to miss it.

Q. Is there a particular club you would like to use in those situations?
RORY McILROY: Something with a wedge. When you turn it around, obviously the longer the clubface is, the better. That was a sand wedge there but I wouldn't really go any -- I'd probably -- no less lofted than a wedge.

Q. You seem also to be able to control the speed of the ball when it was off the greens in places that when you look at it on television, they are brown and baked out and stuff. That's something that's got to make you feel good about it, as well, considering it's hard to pick up the speed on those kind of situations.
RORY McILROY: It is. I'm playing a new ball this week which is a little softer and is a little more responsive around the greens, which I feel has definitely helped this week. Yeah, you can get some funny lies around the greens here, as well; as you said, some of the brown patchy stuff.

There was a time there on the second green where I took a putter from I guess it would have been nearly semi-rough just because the lie wasn't great and I just didn't feel comfortable chipping it with a wedge. I think you've just got to weigh up the lies around the greens here because more often than not, you're not going to get a perfect one.

Q. What's your vision for The Irish Open going forward, just in terms of the types of courses. Would you like to see it always on a links course?
RORY McILROY: I would. I would love to always see it on a links course.

Q. Is that possible?
RORY McILROY: We're working on it. But yeah, I think -- I'd love to see The Irish Open change date to closer to the Open to have a little bit more of a links swing going into the Open, where maybe it would be The Irish Open, Scottish Open, and The Open, or something like that. That's a long way down the road but I'd like to see it go to that.

But The European Tour have been fantastic. They along with myself, have made a huge commitment to The Irish Open for the next three years and hopefully they go well and we can go on from there.

Q. Do you know what the story is with Lough Erne and the staging?
RORY McILROY: Right now we are just concentrating on this year and trying to make The K Club as good as it can be and we'll go from there.

Q. What Americans are you focussing on as the ambassador?
RORY McILROY: Really I'm not. I think the prize fund, that speaks for itself. I'm not going to do any IOU's this year like I did last year. It's a fantastic tournament in its own right. I mean, it's a bit of an awkward date on the calendar and obviously Royal County Down attracted a lot of guys because of the golf course that is. That's the sort of thing that I would hope for in the future; that the golf courses and the increased prize fund, obviously attract a few more players.

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