|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
MASTERS TOURNAMENTApril 8, 2017Rory McIlroyAugusta, Georgia RORY McILROY: I had some chances on the back nine that I could have converted. I had a great chance on 11 and 14. And where I hit my drives on 13 and 15, I should be making birdie off the tee shots. I was just in between clubs on both of those holes. And I hit the wrong one on both, I guess, and left myself an awkward position. But that's the way it is. The course is getting a little trickier with the greens getting a little firmer. The conditions were quite tough today. So I think I probably could have shot a 67 or 68, but just a few too many wasted opportunities. Q. (No microphone.) RORY McILROY: Hard to tell at the minute. Depends on what Charley does over the next few holes and where he gets to. I'm going to need my best score around here, 65, and I'm going to need something like that to have a chance tomorrow. I'll be able to tell you better tomorrow night whether those missed opportunities hurt my chances. But I'll have to go out and do my best tomorrow. Q. You started out with two birdies in the first three holes. Must have gotten the mind in the right place? RORY McILROY: Yeah, it did, and even the par on 4. That was playing really tough today. And then again I hit the wrong club on 5. Had an 8‑iron in my hands and then switched to a 9. The one place you don't want to miss it on that green is short, which I did, and three‑putted. So that sort of stopped any momentum I had. I was a little frustrated. And then I got a bit of a tough break on 7. I hit a decent tee shot but it ended up behind the trees on the right. It's tough from there. I tried to get cute with a bunker shot and three‑putted from there. Again, as I said, there's times on this course where you take your medicine and try to just walk away with a par. And then there's times‑‑ I sort of got the balance right today, but I didn't take my opportunities when I could have. Q. It seemed yesterday and today when you made a pair of birdies back‑to‑back, and you were going forward, and then you stepped back again. Is there something missing to make it five or six birdies in ten holes? RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's as simple as I was hitting the wrong club on the 5th hole. I lost momentum and make 5 there. And it's hard to get that back, especially when it's a couple of tough holes like 6 and 7. Yeah, the margins are so fine around this golf course. And I was just on the wrong side of it. Q. Can you make it up? RORY McILROY: I think I can, yeah, but I need to play well tomorrow. Q. Will you have a nothing‑to‑lose approach? RORY McILROY: Yeah, but again you can't start going for shots that aren't there. You still need to play smart when you have to. Again, I'll try to take my chances, birdie the par‑5s, and birdie some of the other holes and try to not make too many mistakes. Q. You know what it takes to win a major, speaking of all the players, how important is the mental thing? RORY McILROY: It's huge. It's the most important thing, even if you're not playing that well, if you're heading in the right place I think you'll always have a chance. And, yeah, especially around this place, as well. It's heightened even more, just because you can hear what's going on around you. You can hear if someone's made a birdie or eagle on a certain hole in the back nine. The leaderboard changes and everyone reacts to that. So you really have to focus on yourself and not worry too much about what everyone else is doing. And just try to block all that out and just focus on what you're doing. Q. Did there a strategy that you can try to attack the course or can you ever do that at Augusta? RORY McILROY: I don't think so, I feel like I play as aggressive as anyone around here. I don't think I could go and play‑‑ again, it's one of these courses that you get a little the bit too aggressive and you miss it on the wrong side and you end up looking at birdie and end up making bogey, and that's frustrating. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|