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DUBAI DUTY FREE IRISH OPEN HOSTED BY THE RORY FOUNDATION

May 20, 2016

Rory McIlroy

Straffan, Co. Kildare, Ireland

Q. A round with six birdies and four bogeys, how would you assess your play today?
RORY McILROY: It was a little bit erratic in places. I felt like I still made six birdies, so I gave myself plenty of chances out there and took care of the par 5 but I made a few too many mistakes. I missed a few more greens today, which is because I missed a few more fairways. I just sort of need to tidy that up. I hit a few more positive putts on the front nine, or back nine, but I wasn't great with the putter for the first few holes.

But then got into it a little bit. Held a few nice ones. 70 is not a bad score this morning.

Q. After three missed cuts in The Irish Open, is the first expression relief about having made it, and also the excitement about the possibilities given you're in a good position?
RORY McILROY: Just excitement. I was coming in playing pretty well. I never thought the cut was going to be an issue.

Excited to be in there for the weekend with a chance to win. I'm one behind Danny and Marc at the minute, depending what Danny does at the last. I can't see many of the guys getting to that score this afternoon with the weather that's forecast. I'll be hopefully not too far away from the lead tomorrow and going to make a run over the weekend.

Q. Wearing your hat as tournament host, this leaderboard is looking good for a great weekend, isn't it?
RORY McILROY: It is. I don't think anyone was happier than me last night because of what Danny shot, and then obviously me being up there, both up there for the weekend, the Masters Champion, myself. It's a good leaderboard. It's shaping up well.

Obviously there's a few guys to go out this afternoon and hopefully they play okay and it can be a bit of a shootout for the weekend.

Q. Players yesterday were expressing disappointment that Muirfield was taken off The Open Championship rota; you were saying yesterday Portmarnock is in the same situation with The Irish Open. Give us a sense of the situation with that.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I've always thought that Portmarnock was one of the best venues for The Irish Open because of its proximity to Dublin, its proximity to the airport. But obviously that issue is holding them back, as well.

We've had conversations about it, and you know, they are in the process of maybe taking the first few steps in maybe changing that rule. But I'm going to put as much pressure as I can on them to try and change it. I think I'd love to have the Irish Open there obviously but at the same time, it is 2016 and you know, these things have to change eventually.

Q. 2-under par 70, but is there a sense of frustration?
RORY McILROY: A little bit. Feel like it could have been better today. But if you look at the leaderboard, I'm only one shot out of the lead. A couple rounds under par; would have been nice to shoot something in the 60s today but felt I controlled my game pretty well. I made a few more mistakes today, and it was pretty tricky with the wind. 70 I felt was a decent score.

Q. How did the course set up and play today compared to yesterday?
RORY McILROY: I thought the pin positions today were a little tougher than they were yesterday, so that made it a little more challenging. The wind was similar strength and direction to what it was yesterday. I don't think the course is playing that much differently than it did yesterday.

As I said, I made enough birdies. I just didn't save par when I needed to and that's why the score was a little bit higher.

Q. Is there a sense of relief heading into the Irish Open to be right in the mix?
RORY McILROY: Relief and excitement. Obviously I haven't made the cut here for awhile, and to be in for the weekend and play a solid two rounds of golf, I'm right there in the mix. I'm excited for the weekend. I'm one behind and I'm going to give it a good go.

Q. Great to see yourself and the Masters Champion right up there, as well?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's great to see Danny up there, as well. I was very pleased that he committed to come and play here. It's shaping up to be a good weekend. Any time you have a current Major Champion up there near the top of the leaderboard, it always makes it better. With my tournament hat on, I'm happy with how it's going.

Q. What did the birdie on the last do to change the tenor of the round?
RORY McILROY: It did, it changed my mood a little bit. I was getting quite frustrated there. Especially the end of the round, I felt I was giving myself chances and wasn't converting, and any time I did make a mistake, I wasn't saving par.

To hole that birdie putt on the last, it was nice. It gives me a little bit of momentum going into the weekend, and I'll need it. I'm one shot behind at the minute, and just excited to be up there near the top of the leaderboard, and hopefully I can put another two good couple of rounds in over the next couple of days.

Q. You're the tournament host, wearing a lot of hats this week, first time making the weekend in a few years. How nice of a change of pace is that with a tournament that's clearly near and dear to your heart?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it is. It's very nice to make the weekend. I usually don't stand up here after a second day and say I'm relieved to make the cut, but it's great to be here for the weekend.

But I'm obviously even more excited that I'm in with a chance of winning the golf tournament. The Irish Open is one of the most important tournaments of my year, and I'd dearly love to win it one day. I feel like I've given myself a great chance this year.

Q. What needs to change to get a win over the weekend?
RORY McILROY: I think as you can see, I'm making enough birdies. I think I made six birdies yesterday. I made six birdies today. So the birdies are there. I just need to limit the mistakes. Four bogeys today, a couple of really soft bogeys, as well.

So if I can limit the mistakes, I know that I'm hitting enough good shots and I'm holing enough putts. If I can live with the mistakes, I feel like I'll be right there.

Q. Is this as excited as you've been at The Irish Open for a few years now?
RORY McILROY: It is. I'm excited to be here for the weekend and have a chance to win the golf tournament going into the weekend, as well. Today maybe wasn't quite as good as it was yesterday, but I felt like I still played a decent round of golf. I think anything under par in those conditions this morning was okay. So yeah, excited with two days to go.

Q. Plenty of birdies out there, a nice way to finish, nice mid-round from 30 fees, as well?
RORY McILROY: It was nice. I held a couple of those coming in which is nice. I held one on the first hole which was the 10th, and one on the last. Missed a couple but a putt like that on the last makes up for a couple of chances that didn't quite go in.

Q. Does your position on the board vindicate your decision to change the approach this time around?
RORY McILROY: Yes, definitely. I don't think there's any -- obviously we want to do what's right for the tournament, and I want to make sure that I'm putting my time in off the golf course, as well, to make sure that the foundation raises as much money as it possibly can.

But I don't think anything is as good for this tournament than to have a strong leaderboard like we have going into the weekend, so I'm very happy about that.

Q. Rugby tonight?
RORY McILROY: Rugby tonight, Ulster. It's a big game. Yeah, I'm going to go. I know it's going to be tough, obviously, playing Leinster at home but they have been on a nice run of form over the past couple months, and it would be great to see Ulster beat Leinster in their own backyard.

Q. A day of grinding away, there were bogeys, there were birdies, but you kept your concentration and you were rewarded in the end.
RORY McILROY: I was. I was trying to stay as patient as possible, and I think I was rewarded with that with the putt on the last. I made six birdies today. I made six birdies yesterday. I just made a few too many bogeys today and that's obviously why the score was a little bit higher.

I played well. I drove the ball well again. I hit a lot of good iron shots, good wedge shots, and it's just whenever I missed a couple of greens, I didn't get it up-and-down. There was a couple of soft bogeys in there, which I want to try to make sure that I don't do that over the weekend. But I know that I'm making enough birdies to definitely win this tournament.

Q. How are you going to do that?
RORY McILROY: I think the only way I can convert this one is by trying to approach it the same way. Trying to stay as patient as I possibly can. The weather doesn't look too good over the weekend, so we're going to have to battle not just the golf course and myself, but also the conditions.

But I'm going to stay as patient as I can. I feel I've had a good look at the golf course now for two days, and I feel confident on it. No reason why I can't go out there the next two days and make the same amount of birdies and limit the mistakes.

Q. Looks like you may have got a break with the weather. The draw is very lopsided and you have benefitted from that. You're probably going to face some rough enough conditions. Are you prepared for that, too?
RORY McILROY: I am. Just about remembered my wet gear whenever I was in Florida packing for The Players and to come over here. The Irish Open, it's in May; the weather can be very changeable this time of year. I knew it was a possibility.

The guys on this side of the draw got very lucky with the weather. We didn't really have to play in any rain whatsoever, and looks like the guys that were out yesterday morning and have to go out this afternoon are going to have to play in rain again.

I got lucky with the draw, so I took advantage of that, which is nice. As you said, it's an even playing field over the next couple days. I feel like I'm prepared to play in whatever comes our way.

Q. Do you feel like if you click, it can take off?
RORY McILROY: I do. It's been good. It's been solid the next couple of days but there's definitely more in there. So whether I get to show that this week, depending on what the conditions are like, it might just be a bit of a grind out there over the weekend.

I feel like my game is in good shape, and as I said at the start of the week, I just feel like there's something waiting there to click, and when it does, I could be off and running and that could be the catapult or the momentum that I need to have another great summer.

So hopefully that is the case, but my game feels in really good shape.

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