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THE BARCLAYS

August 24, 2016

Rory McIlroy

Farmingdale, New York

LAURA NEAL: Thank you for joining us. We have Rory McIlroy in the interview room here. 36th in the FedExCup rankings heading into the Playoffs. Maybe just talk to us a little bit about your approach going into these four tournaments and expectations and how you're liking Bethpage after being out there yesterday.

RORY McILROY: I guess the FedExCup, it's all about, really, what you do these four weeks, just sort of staying around. I haven't played a whole bunch of tournaments on the PGA TOUR this year, and obviously it hasn't been the way I've wanted the year to go. That's why I find myself in this position.

But a good week this week, get yourself into the top 5, and then that's what the Playoffs are about. It sort of gives everyone that's inside that Top-125 a chance to progress and move on. I think that's the goal for most of the field.

It's nice to be back to Bethpage. Good memories from The Open in 2009. Played okay in 2012, finished somewhere around 20th. But yeah, it's a great golf course. I feel like it's a course that sets up well for me. You've got to drive it well, especially this week. The rough is pretty thick. It's pretty soft still, so it's playing quite long. So it should sort of be right up my alley.

Q. What's the difference between playing a four-round tournament today and four weeks of play to win the FedExCup?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think you have to take it one week at time a time. I don't think you can really look ahead to the next week. You have to take it one week at time a time because you know in any of the given weeks, if you play well, you're going to progress and you're going to move up.

So I know that, and you've really got at least until THE TOUR Championship three opportunities to get yourself into that top five going into THE TOUR Championship so that you have a great chance of winning.

It's a great format. It offers guys like myself that aren't right up there a chance to play well when it matters. As I said, that's what it's all about.

Q. Did you watch the Olympics, and if so, which events did you watch?
RORY McILROY: So I saw Henrik and Justin's fairway woods at the last and I saw the chip shots and I saw the putts and I saw the medal ceremony. Actually I spent the weekend in my in-laws cabin in upstate New York where there was no TV, no electricity. So actually didn't get to see much of anything that weekend. But we got back Sunday afternoon, so caught up with it.

Yeah, obviously it pleasantly surprised me. There was more people at the golf events than there was at the athletics. It was good to see, it really was. It seems like it was a great atmosphere down there. I think it was one of the cheaper tickets, as well, and I think that encouraged a lot of people to go.

Obviously it was well supported down there, and I think Justin was a great winner. He was on board from the start. Even you go back years and see his quotes about it, and he was really excited to play and looking forward to play. So I think it was the right winner in the end, as well.

Q. Did any of what you did see change your personal view about golf in the Olympics?
RORY McILROY: As I said, it was nice to be proven wrong somewhat in terms of, like I thought golf was sort of going to get lost a little bit. It was away from the village; I thought it was going to, yeah, just sort of blend in with everything else and be, not forgotten about, but just one of a lot of sports that are there obviously. But to see the crowds and see the turnout, I was glad to be somewhat proven wrong.

Q. What has been the break like for you since the PGA, and did it give you a chance to hit the reset button after this season and re-gear up for the next few weeks?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's been a good three weeks. Leaving Baltusrol, obviously I was very disappointed, and I needed to think about a few things. I needed to assess where my game was and address a few issues.

Obviously I think I was No. 1 in strokes gained off the tee at Baltusrol, but I was near dead last in putting, so obviously that was something I needed to address. I think I have addressed it somewhat, and I feel like I'm on the right path. It's going to be a process, because there's a lot of things that I needed to change.

I got into some really bad habits, and it will take awhile to iron those fully out and get out of them. But I feel like I've made a good start with that. So it was a nice time to sort of do some work on that, but then have a little bit of a break and recharge. I think I'm going to play nine of the next 12 weeks, so it's a busy stretch for me coming up.

Yeah, looking forward to getting on a stretch of events and a run of events, because I haven't really had that for awhile. It was sort of on/off, on/off, since basically Memorial. Memorial, week off; U.S. Open, week off; French Open, week off; Open, week off; PGA. So there really hasn't been a run of events.

So I'm looking forward to playing five out of the next six hopefully, and then after that playing The Race to Dubai and everything and finishing off The European Tour season. So I'm looking forward to everything that's coming up.

Q. What's your plan from an equipment standpoint now with the Nike news and what's that process like for you right now?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think we're all still trying to figure it out. I think that's the thing. I'm very happy with pretty much everything. I think everyone knows, I've made a change in putter, but I think that was inevitable after my performance at Baltusrol.

So yeah, I'm happy with everything so far. I've got them to save me a lot of three years' worth of golf balls, so at least I've got a golf ball that I like and that I know that I can play well with.

Yeah, it was a shock to all of us. I got a call two hours before it was announced. It sort of -- I'm happy with everything. I'm hitting the ball well. That's not the issue. My issue over the past few months has been I just haven't been able to get the ball in the hole.

We'll see where we go from here. I'm not going to commit to anything. I wouldn't be surprised to see me not go with manufacturer for a year or two, just sort of play with what I want to play, play with what I'm comfortable with, and go from there.

Q. How many golf balls is three years for you? I'm guessing it's less than for the rest of us.
RORY McILROY: It's probably more. If you didn't lose a golf ball, it's one golf ball a round. If I don't lose a golf ball, I'm still using at least six, you know, cutting them. There's a few dozen there (laughs).

Q. Along those lines, is the putter the same one you previously used? And secondly, as you go through this process, when you made the Nike switch, it was sort of all at once. Is it something you'll do piece by piece or sort of figure it out that way?
RORY McILROY: Not piece by piece. It's more just play with -- I haven't been home, but apparently my parents' house has been inundated with golf equipment from different manufacturers. I haven't asked for it, but it's there. (Laughter).

Again, I'm happy with everything right now. I don't think it's the time or the place to change what I feel like I'm very comfortable with. Obviously working with the Nike guys over the last number of years, they have gotten to know me and my specific tendencies and what I like in golf clubs. No reason to start changing just because I can. I'm comfortable with everything.

I wouldn't say it's piece by piece, but I might start tinkering a little bit in the off-season and see what else is out there. Like I said, I don't really expect to sign with anyone next year. I'd rather just have a year of going and playing what I want and being comfortable, and if I come across something that I really like and I'm really comfortable with, obviously I'll look to sign a longer-term deal.

Q. If you were asked to describe, which I'm asking you now, describe your season so far, how would you describe it, and how do you generally judge your year?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I mean, I guess for me, I'm trying to judge my year on wins. There's been one of those, which was a very emotional win and something that meant a lot to me. But in the bigger scheme of our overall golf year, it wasn't a big win. It wasn't a major; it wasn't a World Golf Championship.

But there's been thirds and fourths and top fives and Top-10s in there. The weeks that I have played well, I've been solid. Obviously the two missed cuts at the majors were very disappointing, especially the way I missed the cuts. I should have played the weekend in both of them, and I sort of threw it away.

Look, it hasn't been the year that I wanted, but I still feel like there's enough golf left this year to salvage it and call it somewhat of a successful season.

Q. This is a different kind of week. New York area is different than any place else. What is your week like? Are you a Long Island guy? Do you stay in the city? What's this week like?
RORY McILROY: If it was maybe ten or 15 minutes shorter a journey, I'd stay in the city, but I'm staying out here. We'll head into the city Sunday night and spend a couple of days in the city hanging around. I've spent a lot of time in New York over the past few years and I've gotten to know it quite well and know a lot of people here. It's always a good time. Catch up with a few people and head up to Boston Wednesday. I'll just hang out in the city for a couple of days and enjoy myself.

Q. What do you do while you're here?
RORY McILROY: I mean, what am I doing -- Monday, actually I might go and visit Garden City Golf Club. I heard that's pretty good and I know a couple of people out there. I might do that. But apart from that, catch up with people, eat in nice restaurants. Yeah, generally have a good time.

Q. Clearly family is a priority for you at this part of your life. You said Zika, among other issues, were reasons that you were able to forego the Rio Olympics. Curious with the rising number of cases now in South Florida, if that gives you any cause for concern going forward?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I haven't been back in Florida since June. I'm planning to go down there the weekend before THE TOUR Championship, but as I said, apart from that, I haven't been down there.

Yeah, it is, even the cases that are being -- you see cases even north of that in Ohio and New Jersey and all sorts of places. So it's one of those things, it's hard to -- I have a home there. It's hard not to go home. But at the same time, Zika was just one of a few issues I felt like I was facing going down to Brazil.

Yeah, I guess everyone's got to deal with it, and at the same time, it's not as if Erica and I are planning on having kids in the next year or so. We'll see. But be nice to go home at some point.

Q. If you could just go into specifics on the putter change and what you've seen in this practice you've talked about that has you confident into that week.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, so there's been a few things I've tried to change. Big thing has been the path. I went down to SAM PuttLab and putt face was left and path was left, but it was more to do with what my hands were doing, sort of going up and left.

And obviously with working with Dave over the last few years, it's very much left-hand leading, but the left hand was leading but it was going this way and left and up.

So there's a variety of different putts you could hit by doing that. You could hit a pull if the face matches the path. You could cut it if the face is slightly open but going that way.

So all of a sudden, I was missing -- it's like a two-way miss on the golf course: You're missing putts left, you're missing putts right, and you don't quite know why.

So getting on that and trying to improve the path will definitely help. And that's just the first part of it. The path is something that obviously if you can address it square and align it properly; if you can get that putter back to square at impact, then you've got the best chance of obviously starting it on line and it's just about giving it good speed and giving it good read.

So technically, I feel like I've come a long way in the last few weeks. As I said, I feel like there's a bit to go and it's process, but I feel like I've made a good start. I feel like with the putter change to a mallet, it doesn't encourage that face to close that much, which is the bad putt I was getting. So just sort of encourages the face to stay a little more square through impact.

Q. Even though you're working on a lot of stuff right now, how much do you think about regaining the No. 1 ranking and how much do you relish the competition, not only with Day and Johnson, but with Henrik joining the group?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, obviously Henrik's had a fantastic run of golf recently with The Open win and playing well down in Brazil. Golf's very healthy at the minute. Look, if you look at the World Rankings, I'm in my position for a reason. I haven't gained or earned as many World Ranking points as those guys have this year.

But it's very healthy. There's guys that are playing very well. For me right now, it's about just improvement and trying to improve my putting, and if I can do that and focus on the things that I can control, then hopefully the outcome is I'll move up the World Rankings and I'll play well in tournaments and keep it going from there.

The World Rankings are a byproduct of playing good golf tournaments and having chances to win. I just need to focus on that part of it, and then hopefully by that, I'll start to move up again.

Q. With The Ryder Cup here about a month away, and the home captain being able to direct course setup, in the three you've played, if you found there to be a home-course advantage, and with Davis saying he wants it long and with little rough; or are the Americans about getting the crowd involved with a lot of birdies and eagles?
RORY McILROY: I think he wanted it long and little rough at Medinah, as well. Can't remember how that turned out (laughter).

But I think course setup, I mean, even the Europeans, the majority of our golf is over here in the United States, so I don't think course setup is that much of an issue.

I think the big thing is, a Ryder Cup away from home is difficult. You have people chirping at you and you really have to try to keep your concentration, because you're not just playing the 12 guys on the American Team.

You're basically battling a crowd that's rooting against you, as well. And for most of the guys, that's quite an unusual scenario, because we get a lot of support out here and we're well received, basically, everywhere we go where once every four years, it's a little bit different.

I think it's more that. It's more battling the U.S. Team, but also battling -- you being the away team, as well, is quite difficult.

We don't know what to expect at Hazeltine. It's quite late in the year, so it could be cold up there, anyway. You could have a long golf course and 50-, 60-degree weather. It's going to be very long. We have a few long hitters on our team, and so do the Americans. But The Ryder Cups at the end of the day comes down to who keeps their nerve the best and who holds the most putts under the pressure.

Q. When you switched from Titleist to Nike back in 2013, I think it was, you had that sort of really difficult season before you won in Sydney. I know you're going to keep the Nike clubs in the bag for awhile, but any fears in finding a new set of irons and drivers that will suit you?
RORY McILROY: No, I guess for me, I have a big pool to choose from, you know. I can basically go with whatever I want.

But again, as I said, I'm happy with what I have. I'm happy with everything. But yeah, it took me -- I didn't expect it to take as long as it did with the transition from starting with Nike in 2013. It took me a good nine months; nine months to figure out -- it was really driver, ball. That was the big thing for me. Once I found those two components, sort of October time of 2013, my results -- there was a few technical things in there, as well. But once I had a driver and a ball I was confident with, I was sort of off and running.

So it took me a little while to find that and working with the guys and tweaking stuff. But no, I don't have any fear; again, as I said, I've got a driver I really like, I have a ball I really like, irons, wedges. I'm comfortable with everything in my bag. As I said at the start, I don't feel like there's any reason to change just because I can.

Q. The decision by Nike to pull the plug on their equipment manufacturing, does it affect the business side of Rory McIlroy? Does that mean you won't have a Nike bag? Will you be more marketable?
RORY McILROY: Nike don't own my bag anyway. That wasn't part of the deal.

But yeah, look, I fully expect to stay with Nike for a long time. They are a great company to work with. I've had a really good experience with them. Even not just from the golf side, but the different areas that they can put you in. I've been a face of Nike Training, which I've really enjoyed, and I've sort of crossed into other sports, and they have exposed me to other things. I think only a company like Nike can really do that, so I've been really happy with that side of it.

And look, the hardware of golf business is a tough business. There's so many companies and they are fighting for so many different things. Golf is still a traditionalist game. You have people that are going to play a certain ball and a certain driver and a certain iron. You know, it's hard to break the mold.

But Nike Golf is a big company. It still will be. Apparel and footwear is 80 percent, 85 percent of their market. They want to be the best in that department, and now that they can focus fully on that, I feel they will be.

Q. What type of captaincy do you expect from Darren?
RORY McILROY: We'll be well-dressed (laughter). No, I'm looking forward to playing under Darren. He's a fun-loving guy. I think he really wants to make it as enjoyable as possible for all the guys. Especially we're going to have at least five rookies on the team, so you're going to have to try to make them as comfortable as possible, and that's not just Darren's job. That's the job of some of the guys that are more experienced.

I mean, this is my fourth Ryder Cup, and I feel like I've gained a lot of experience over the past three, so hopefully I can impart some of that knowledge to some of the guys that haven't played.

But Darren will be really good. He's involved everyone in terms of especially what's going to happen next week with the picks. He's been in touch with everyone and sort of give everyone his thoughts and bouncing ideas off people. He's been really good so far in that.

I think he's going to be a great captain, and especially for as long as I've known him, it's going to be special for me to play under him, because I've known Darren since I was ten years old. For him to be a Ryder Cup Captain and me to be playing under him is pretty cool.

Q. How much of a difference do the captains actually make? We hear a lot about them this time of year, but do you feel like they are as impactful as maybe as we think talking about them, or is it mostly up to players look really smart?
RORY McILROY: I think there's a combination there.

But I definitely think Paul McGinley is the best captain that I've played under and I knew he would be, because I played under him in the Seve Trophy in 2009, Continental Europe versus Great Britain and Ireland, and I really liked his attitude towards it.

He took a lot from -- his whole philosophy was what Bernhard Langer's philosophy was at Oakland Hills in 2004 about being the underdog and playing the underdog role. Even if we were favorites at Gleneagles, still having that underdog mentality, that's something that's very important, I think. Because if you look at the overall record of The Ryder Cup, it's United States 27 and Europe or Great Britain, Ireland, whatever, 13. So we are still a long way behind. So we can still be quite comfortable with that underdog role.

McGinley was great. He left no stone unturned, and I feel like he left a blueprint for other European captains to follow, and I feel like Darren has followed that pretty closely. I see no reason why this captaincy won't go like the last one.

Obviously it will be harder. It's a very young, hungry U.S. Team, guys that have made it a priority to win The Ryder Cup this year. I mean, Jordan has openly said that's his biggest priority this year. You've got guys that are going in there that are really hungry and want to, and it's going to be tough for Europe away from home. But we're going to give it our best shot.

Q. A lot of people can relate to you because of the family you come from, the working class and very hard-working. What are your thoughts on playing a big tournament like this on a public course where people play every day?
RORY McILROY: It's awesome. It's great. I mean, we were talking about it yesterday. I was playing the back nine with Justin Thomas, and we were saying, it's a public golf course, it's unbelievable. Just to have the opportunity to come, for anyone.

I think golf needs more of that. It needs more inclusion of everyone and not as elitist. It's awesome to be here in a public golf course, and you know, you can see how great it is. And just this property in general, five golf courses, ranging from all sorts of difficulties. It's cool that we're here and it's great that people will see us playing it on TV and say, "Well, I know that hole and I know this hole." Very few people can say that about some of the other golf courses that we play.

LAURA NEAL: Thanks for your time and good luck this week.

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