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TURKISH AIRLINES OPEN

October 31, 2015

Rory McIlroy

Antalya, Turkey

Q. Three 67s: Which one did you like the most?
RORY McILROY: They are all a little different. I needed to play well coming in here for this 67. Got off to a bit of a slow start. I don't know why. I just felt very lethargic out there today. Couldn't really get any energy. To finish the way I did was very pleasing. And yeah, I'd say this was the best of them just because I didn't get off to a great start and I needed to dig in deep and finish the round off well, which I did.

Q. What was the spark today that got you going eventually?
RORY McILROY: Probably the eagle on 13. That second shot in there was probably partly luck and partly a good shot. It's tough to stop it where that pin is, but to be able to make three there I thought was a big bonus. And to birdie the hole afterwards was nice, as well. So that definitely turned the day around a bit.

Q. What's it like to birdie the last?
RORY McILROY: It's nice. It's nice not to hit it in a bush or not hit it somewhere where you have to hit it left-handed. I thought for a second it was going left again and thankfully it just caught the right side of the slope for me. It was nice to make four at the last and nice to get another shot towards the lead. I'm not sure what the lead is going to be at the end of the day, but yeah, I won't be too far away going into tomorrow.

Q. If you keep the run going, 20-under, good enough or do you fancy going out there trying to beat it?
RORY McILROY: I mean, I'll go out there with the mind-set that I need to beat that to have a chance to win. So, yeah, the 67s I've shot this week have been a little different and I feel like I've played within myself for all of them. So I feel there's a low round out there for me and hopefully it's tomorrow.

Q. It was interesting, you 3-putted on 10 and then after that, you went 4-under on your next four holes. When you walked off the 10th green, did you turn frustration into motivation as you moved forward?
RORY McILROY: I did, yeah. I felt like today -- it wasn't great start for me. I didn't get off to the start that I wanted to. I struggled to get any sort of energy going. I don't know, the bogey on 10 was a bit of -- yeah, that was good to turn frustration into motivation and to play well those next few holes. Definitely the eagle on 3 was the spark that I needed to sort of get myself up the leaderboard.

Q. Do you change your strategy or become a little more aggressive?
RORY McILROY: I feel like I just need to play the same way. I feel if I play the same way and execute a little bit better, there's definitely a lower score out there for me. The three 67s that I've shot this week, I feel like I've played very much within myself. So if I can get something going and get some momentum out there tomorrow, no reason why I can't go lower than that.

Q. We talked earlier in the week and you said, 20-under par, at least, would probably win this. If you shoot another 67, that would give you 20-under par. Would that be good enough?
RORY McILROY: I'm not sure. I'm not sure 20 is going to be good enough. I'll be setting myself a target somewhere a little lower than 20 and we'll see where we go from there. But with the guys that are up there on the leaderboard, there are so many birdie chances out there, someone could catch fire and get to 22, 23 tomorrow and hopefully that's me.

Q. What's the report on the putter then, day three?
RORY McILROY: I felt like I missed some; I held some. It was okay. Some of the pin positions out there were very tricky, like double-breakers. Sometimes hard to commit to a read just because it was going one way at the start and then going another way at the end, and it was hard to really pick that one spot that you wanted to roll it over.

But for the most part, I felt like I've putted okay. You have to putt decent to be 15-under par after three rounds. But missed a couple that I probably shouldn't have today, but I'm not going to let that get to me.

Q. So you're mentally uncomfortable with it?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, a little bit. I'm seeing putts go in the hole. At least I'm holing some. So it's not like I'm missing everything that I look at out there.

Q. What was the second shot on 13 and could you see the pin where you were?
RORY McILROY: No, I couldn't. I picked a line somewhere. Had to go a little bit right of one of the floodlights. So just had to make sure I missed the floodlight and I knew it would be an okay shot. But yeah, I couldn't see the pin.

Q. What was the distance?
RORY McILROY: 4-iron, 229. I was lucky it landed into the upslope and then just trundled on -- I think. I didn't see it. But I can imagine that's the only way I can get it to stop there.

Q. The frustration was there when you came off the 10th. Was that a spark?
RORY McILROY: A little bit. I think that run of holes came at a good time, bogeying 10. But then having the two par 5s pretty close and having a few other chances coming in, I knew walking down the 10th, I had a target of trying to get to 15-under par. I knew that was pretty achievable, birdie the three par 5s, and birdied two others -- eagled 13. So it was nice to finish the round off the way I wanted to.

Q. Did you hear Tiger had surgery again?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I saw that last night. I don't know, I think any time you sort of touch your back, it's tough. He obviously needed it. But I mean, it looks like it's a long road to recovery for him. Just hope he gets better, not just to play golf, but just for sort of every day life, being able to do every day things more than anything else. Yeah, not good to see.

Q. He's going to turn 40 in December. Can he come back from something like this?
RORY McILROY: I guess that's his third back surgery in a year and a half. Like someone once said, the best way to avoid your Fifth back surgery is to avoid the first one. But it's a procedure he needed. I mean, it's tough. I just hope he gets better.

Q. He's described himself as a stubborn person -- if anybody can do it, do you think he can?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, he's definitely -- he has that mind-set that he can overcome things and he's overcome things before. So I wouldn't put it past him. But as I said, I think it's a long road ahead.

Q. Do you think he's missed by any of the players, Tiger being up on the leaderboard; the fans?
RORY McILROY: He's missed by the game of golf in general. Not sure the players miss being beat by him every week. But the game of golf, we were so lucky and so privileged to have him sort of spearheading our sport for so long and to have a global icon like that. The game of golf, I'm not saying it needs him but he definitely came along at the right time and did a lot for the game.

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