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DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP, DUBAI

November 20, 2015

Rory McIlroy

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

RORY McILROY: Considering where I am on the leaderboard, I'll take it now. It has played a little tricky out there with the wind conditions and the direction of the wind changing a little bit. It caught me out today a couple of times. 8-under par, it's a good position going into the weekend and not too far off the lead. Happy with my couple days work.

Q. I sense, knowing you, that you feel as though you've left just a few out there?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I have. I missed a short opportunity at the first hole and then missed a few more opportunities. But I made up for them with a few good birdies. So I mean, it all evens out at the end of the week. The good thing is I'm giving myself plenty of chances and I've only made a couple of mistakes over 36 holes. If I can keep giving myself chances over the next 36, I should be right there.

Q. There's a tournament within the tournament, you and Danny Willett are fighting it out. How aware or how do you dismiss his game and just get on with your own?
RORY McILROY: I'm treating it like a normal event because I'm just here to win and I know if I win, then everything else will take care of itself. Just trying to focus on my own game and focus on myself and if I can do that, hopefully things work out the right way.

Q. Mom and dad are here and your girlfriend is here, very much a family affair. You spend a lot of time and you have over the years; how comfortable are you here in Dubai?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I'm very comfortable. I won my first professional event here in 2009. I played the Dubai Desert Classic as an amateur in 2006, and I've been coming here for the better part of ten years, and I've got a place here now and spend at least a couple months a year here, so I love it. Made a lot of good friends, and great place obviously for weather and practise conditions. We really enjoy it.

Q. What's your halftime analysis, would you say, of how it's going so far?
RORY McILROY: It's going pretty well. Two solid rounds of golf, a couple 68s. I felt like yesterday it could have been a lot better. And today, I felt like I hit the ball a little better. It wasn't quite as scrappy. There was a little portion of the end of the front nine where it was scrappy still and missing a few greens.

The back nine I felt like I played quite nicely and made a few birdies. I don't think I've taken advantage of the par 5s quite the way I would have liked to, but if I can do that over the next couple of days and keep giving myself plenty of chances, I should be close on Sunday.

Q. That's the encouraging thing and I think we always have this conversation here; if you have the odd hole where it's a little bit scrappy you always seem to find a way to get right back on track on this course.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, a little scrappy, as I said on the front nine, I made a couple of really good up-and-downs on the eighth and ninth hole which got me going. Then I made a couple of birdie -- or a few birdies coming in.

Even though I wasn't hitting it my best, I was able to scramble and save par and that's the important thing.

Q. Does your outlook on how you approach the weekend change at all? I know you're here for the win, but obviously with the implications of the race and all of that kind of thing, do you have a different attitude heading into the weekend?
RORY McILROY: Not at all. I'm three behind Emiliano there and I just saw firsthand how well he's playing. I played with him in China. He's playing very well.

I just have to go out tomorrow and try to putt another good, solid round of golf in and give myself a chance going into Sunday. I'm not going to approach it any differently. I'm just going to try to go about my business and keep control of my emotions and thoughts and if I can do that, then I feel like that's the best way for me to approach it.

Q. Would you say you've found top gear, fourth gear, third year? Where would you say you are at the minute?
RORY McILROY: I'm probably somewhere between third and fourth I guess. I'm not quite performing at highest levels I would like to. I'm hitting it well. I feel like my putting's getting better. I still missed a few chances but I scrambled well today. All facets of my game are pretty much there. Just a matter of being a little more efficient, taking advantage of the par 5s a bit better.

Q. The putt on 11 missed --
RORY McILROY: Yeah, there's a lot of grain here and you sort of have to, you're obviously reading slope and grain and sometimes it goes with the slope and sometimes it goes with the grain. Just got to try and make your best effort at reading it and then trying to commit to that line.

Q. What was it on the first?
RORY McILROY: Maybe five, six feet.

Q. Would you take two more 68s if offered them?
RORY McILROY: That's 16. I think Henrik won with 15 last year. I don't know. If the wind keeps up like it is, I would say 16 wouldn't be too far away. I'd still like to, I'd rather go out there and see if I can better 68.

Q. You feel you have a low one in you?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I do. My record around this place is good and I've shot a few lower ones around here.

Q. Does that record become more important over the last 36 holes?
RORY McILROY: No, I think it's just how comfortable I am on the golf course. I don't see myself not shooting something around what I've shot today, if not a bit better.

So if I can go out with that mind-set and be comfortable knowing that if I just play my own game, I'm not saying this is the worst that I'm going to shoot, but I'd have to play a lot worse than this to not move in the right direction I guess.

Q. You mentioned he million I can't know. How impressive was he playing with you today and playing very well?
RORY McILROY: Very well. Didn't really put a foot wrong. Didn't miss a shot. Held a lot of putts. He's obviously been playing so well with Web.com finals and then Fry's.com and then just he's had a great run the last couple of months. He's got a lot of confidence and he's hitting great shots and putting very well. So if he keeps playing like he did today, he'll be a tough man to catch.

Q. Did you have a word with him about nearly hitting you at the Fry's?
RORY McILROY: He already come up to me in China at the Pro-Am party or something and said, "I'm so sorry." I'm like, it's fine, no worries, it's not your fault. I sort of said to him what I said to the media afterwards. I said I wasn't feeling great about myself; probably might have got me off the course quicker.

Q. Can I just ask you about Paul Dunne?
RORY McILROY: Backing up his performance at The Open and then having all these high expectations to go into tour School over six rounds and get it done and get a Tour card for next year is awfully impressive. It's great to see.

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