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ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT SCOTTISH OPENJuly 12, 2017Rory McIlroyAyrshire, Scotland MICHAEL GIBBONS: Rory, welcome to Scotland. Welcome to the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open. RORY McILROY: Thank you. Q. The last time we spoke, you were obviously disappointed and frustrated with your missed the cut at The Irish Open. What have the last few days done for you in terms of your game and your state of mind? RORY McILROY: Yeah, look, it was obviously disappointing not to be there for the weekend. But I felt like I learnt a lot over those two days that I played. I was getting a little steep with my wedges, so went on Saturday, tried to shallow out my sort of -- my wedge action a little bit. Tried to, instead of hitting more full shots, trying to sort of hit more knock-down shots that I'll probably need the next couple of weeks. Then I guess I had a bit of time to reflect on things and reflect on what I feel like I need to do to come into this week, and obviously next week with a chance to win and contend and to play well. I came here, got the ferry over on Monday. Got to the course here late Monday afternoon and did some putting on my own. Just to try and figure out a couple things on my own and try to take ownership of what I'm really working on. Worked a lot on routine. I feel like I've become quite bogged down in technical thoughts a little bit. So I need to focus more on my routine and how I approach a putt. Played 18 holes yesterday. Saw the golf course. Tried to sort of get ready for that. I feel the wedge play work that I did over the weekend will help here. I think if you drive it well on this golf course, you're going to have a lot of shots from around a hundred yards, 90 yards. So I think wedge play will be important this week. Q. Give us your thoughts on being back at The Scottish Open after a two-year absence. RORY McILROY: Last time I played Scottish Open was up in Aberdeen. I enjoyed it up there. It was a good preparation week going into Hoylake. I think playing links golf is the best way to prepare going into The Open Championship, but look, the last two weeks are huge events in their own right now, part of the Rolex Series and big ranking points, big prize money. And that's something I'm focused on, as well. I feel I've got ground to make up this year because of not playing as much as I would have wanted, and when I have played, not getting the results that I've wanted to. So it's a big week. I want to play well. I want to have a chance to win and I feel like if I get myself in contention, that's a great confidence boost for me going into Birkdale, as well. Q. We've seen you go through periods like this before where your results haven't been good and you suddenly burst into life in multi-winning form. Can you feel that coming and is there any sense it's coming now? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I do. It's close. It's hard to sit up here and stand in front of a camera every single time and say to you guys it's close, because I sound a bit after a broken record after a few weeks. But really, it's not far away. I'm positive about it. I'm excited about my game. I feel like I'm doing a lot of good things. And again, it's just putting it all together. Putting it all together, not just for one day but for four days; and not just for four days, to do it week-in and week-out. Look, I've got a busy summer coming up. I'm potentially playing seven weeks out of eight or seven weeks out of nine. I've got a busy stretch coming up and I'm excited to play. Q. Obviously a lot of responsibility last week hosting The Irish Open this week. Have you arrived, do you feel like it's a calmer, more chilled-out week for you, or do you feel like the pressure is already building for The Open next week? RORY McILROY: No, it's definitely been a little more chilled. I haven't been running around quite as much as last week, and it's been nice. Even just to spend that hour and a half on the putting green on Monday night on my own just sort of with my own thoughts and sort of doing stuff, it was nice. Yesterday I got out early and played the golf course. Spent a good bit of time at the course yesterday. Yeah, it's been a bit more relaxed. It's been a bit more of a normal week in term terms of preparation and I feel like I'm getting myself ready to play a tournament and there's not other things going on. But look, The Open Championship is eight days away I guess. We've got a big tournament coming up first and I want to play well here. I need to see good signs in my golf game going in there to have a bit of confident, and I do see good signs, but as I just said, I just need to put it all together and shoot a couple of good scores. So I might be putting a bit too much pressure on myself, but I know that it's coming around. But I'm realistic that I need to see it happen sooner, rather than later. Q. The course here, can you give us just a few thoughts on Dundonald Links? RORY McILROY: It's a modern sort of manmade type of links golf course. The greens and the green complexes are very undulating in different sections of the greens. Very typical of a Kyle Phillips design. He designed Kingsbarns, and then Yas Island over in Abu Dhabi, and it's the same sort of feel. It's pretty generous off the tee but you have to be aware of where you're hitting your approach shots from and then trying to put the ball in the right place on the greens. I think it will be a good test this week. I mean, if the weather stays like it is, you'll probably see scores like we saw last week at Portstewart. You know, if the wind gets up a little bit, it can be pretty tricky because you have to be pretty accurate off the tee here. The rough is pretty trick in places and if you get yourself out of position, it can become difficult. Q. What kind of weather do you want this week? Henrik was wanting the wind to blow a bit. RORY McILROY: I don't mind. This would be lovely (laughter). Q. Given the nature of your year-to-date, would it be fair to say you're impatient? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think it's fair to say I'm trying to stay patient but it's proving difficult. It always has been for me. It always has been. Because you know, look, I feel like I am good enough to win these tournaments, and I've shown that before. And as I keep saying it, I don't feel like my game is that far away. So to stay patient when you feel like that is sometimes quite difficult. Yeah, I feel like all I need is, if I can get a little spark this week and see a few putts go in and shoot a couple of good scores, I feel like that will build a lot of confidence and that will ease that impatience a little bit, I guess. Q. Do you get worried during periods like this? RORY McILROY: I've always said, like golf is -- for me, anyway, it's very much a mind-set thing, as well. But it's very fickle, because when you play well and you're winning tournaments, you never, you never think about how difficult it can feel at times. And vice versa, whenever you're playing -- I don't feel like I'm playing poorly; just the results aren't going my way. But when you are playing badly, you think about and you maybe watch videos of yourself on YouTube and winning, and sometimes you're like, when is it going to feel that easy again. So it's really, I feel it's never as bad as you feel it is and it's never as good as you feel it is. It's more of a mind-set thing and just getting yourself in the right frame of mind. Yeah, I've gone through little periods like this in the past, and as Tim said, I've hit form and I've been able to run with it and sort of ride on the crest of a wave for a few months, and I feel like that's not too far away. Q. So what do you want or need from this week? RORY McILROY: I think consistency. I think more of maybe not hitting as many loose shots. I feel like I'm hitting the ball well off the tee, and it's being able to take advantage of those tee shots. That's why I worked on my wedge game last week and I feel like it will be important this week. My putting, I think of 36 holes last week, I hit the edge of the hole 11 or 12 times. So again, that tells me it's not too far away and I'm doing the right thing. It's not as if I'm missing putts by three or four inches. It's again, the speed might have been a tiny bit off or not quite got my eye in. I don't feel like that's too far away. But just consistency. Fairways, greens, give yourself chances, take a few of them, and not really worry about the score. But just if you get into a nice rhythm like that on the golf course, I feel that can do a lot for you. Q. You mentioned the injury you had, and this year, as well, there's been a lot of emerging players, Jon Rahm in particular, who has had a fantastic year. Is it more difficult now to boost yourself to try to get back up the rankings? And psychologically is there an element you have to overcome to push yourself back to the No. 1 spot again? RORY McILROY: I don't think it's more difficult, because golf, I feel it's the ultimate test of battling yourself. I think if you can get out of your own way and play and just focus on trying to shoot good scores on the golf course, you can't control what Jon Rahm does or what anyone else does. So you can't really worry about that. But look, if that means that you go out and you play well and someone just has a better week, you take your hat off to them and say well done. But I don't think it's any more difficult. I think when maybe you're not getting the results you want, it's more self-inflicted pressure, but again, I have to realise it has been a bit of a stop-start year. I maybe haven't given myself the time or I've been able to have the time to do as much as I've wanted with the injury and everything. Probably, as I said, I feel like I'm playing catch-up a little bit this year. I've got a lot of tournaments coming up through the summer and into sort of September, October time, as well. Last year, I felt like the 2016 season didn't really go the way I wanted. I missed the cut at the U.S. Open and I missed the cut at the PGA but I won two FedExCup tournaments at the end of the year and I won the FedExCup. Still plenty of time to salvage the season, I guess. But I'd rather see that happen sooner, rather than later. Q. Throughout your career, your driver has been a great equaliser, maybe the best club in your bag. Do you feel that will set up well for you this week, next week, Akron, Quail Hollow? Seems like we're entering an area of the schedule that could play into your hands. RORY McILROY: Sure, I always thought that this summer stretch was going to be one that I could do well at because of the golf courses that are coming up. You can definitely hit driver a lot this week. Birkdale, I'm not -- Birkdale, it all depends on the conditions, but I don't envisage myself hitting a lot of drivers at Birkdale. It's definitely a course where it dictates to you how you play. The bunkering is really good, the slight doglegs and the angles that you might have to hit a driver at just aren't worth it. So I can see myself hitting a lot of long irons off the tees at Birkdale. But look, you go to Akron and Quail Hollow where the driver is a huge weapon, and if you drive the ball well, you can shoot good scores. Yeah, driver I feel like is the least of my worries right now. I feel like I'm driving the ball pretty well, so that's okay. But yeah, I can use it this week and hopefully take advantage of that here. Q. What are you working on in your putting stroke, and which putter are you going to use this week? RORY McILROY: Same putter. And then again, as I said at the start of this, more, like I feel like I've worked a lot technically and on the mechanics of the stroke over the past few months, and I feel like my stroke is more than adequate to hole putts. So it's a matter of routine and getting yourself in the right mental frame of mind, and sort of getting all those technical thoughts out of your mind before you hit a putt. I think it's trying to separate those two from working on your technique and working on what you need to be able to start the ball on line. But then getting away from that, so that you can nearly just let your subconscious do that, and that's sort of what I've been working on this week. Q. Talking about frame of mind and confidence, what do you think about Conor McGregor and that sort of strong mental approach? RORY McILROY: I watched the press conference last night. It was so funny. He's probably one of the mentally-strongest people in sport right now. I've watched a lot of Conor McGregor's press conferences and stuff, not just for the comical factor, I guess, but more mentally he's so strong. He says, "I see what happens in my mind, and it happens." And it's a huge -- the mental game in golf is obviously massive, and the mental game in what they do, and not being intimidated and seeing what's going to happen in your mind before it actually does in anticipation, it's massive. I mean, he, I think -- look, from where he was four years ago to where he is now, not just of stature and the brand and all that, but just his mind-set. You listen to his interviews and you listen to what he actually says and you delve deeper into those thoughts, mentally, he is very, very strong. But yeah, that press conference last night was hilarious. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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