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DELL TECHNOLOGIES CHAMPIONSHIP

August 31, 2017

Rory McIlroy

Boston, Massachusetts

JOHN BUSH: We'd like to welcome Rory McIlroy, into the interview room, our defending FedExCup Champion. He's making his second start at the Dell Technologies Championship and he was our champion here in 2012 and 2016. Welcome back to TPC Boston. If we could get some comments.

RORY McILROY: Thank you. Yeah, it's always good to be back in Boston. Good memories here. Obviously winning in 2012 and winning in 2016. I've always enjoyed the golf course here. It's always set up well for me. You have to drive it well, and I've always felt comfortable around here. Last year I didn't get off to the greatest of starts but was able to rally on the weekend and get a win which set me up to go on and win the FedExCup.

I sort of find myself in a similar position this week as I was last year, needing a good week to sort of kick-start the next few weeks, and hopefully I can find that little spark that I found last year and go on and play well from here until THE TOUR Championship.

Q. Do you have any strong Boston connections? Are you friend with any particular athletes here?
RORY McILROY: Not really. I was sponsored by Bose for quite a while, which are obviously a Boston-based company and got to know a lot of the guys there. But that's really it.

Obviously there's a lot of Irish here and a lot of Irish connection, so I always feel like I get pretty decent support. No real -- I mean, I guess Tom Brady, but it's more, do you class him as Boston? I mean, obviously he is.

But yeah, I wouldn't say I'm a -- not that I'm a fan of any team, but it's not as if I would follow Boston sports more closely than anything else. I always felt like I've had good support here and that's probably just to do with the Irish connection.

Q. When you play in a Pro-Am, is there one bit of common advice you end up giving amateurs when you play with them?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, just don't try and do too much. I think they sort of play the shot that they can pull off, maybe once out of ten times instead of pulling off -- or trying to hit the shot that they can pull off seven or eight times out of ten. That's sort of a boring answer.

But I feel like if I could caddie for some of these amateurs we play with every Wednesday, or obviously Thursday today; if I could caddie for them for 18 holes, I'd be able to shave five or six strokes off their round straightaway just by decisions and course management.

Q. This injury that you're nursing, playing through it, is part of it you wanted to recapture some of the magic that you captured here last year, and maybe get on a good run?
RORY McILROY: Part of it. I mean, I'd hate to think that I'll end this year without a win. I've got four tournaments left, really, until I can hopefully make that happen: Here, Chicago, Atlanta and then one back over in Europe.

Just be nice to get a win before I shut it down for awhile. But yeah, you know, again, I feel like I'm capable. It's not as if I'm out there and I'm hurting myself or making it any worse. I feel like I can still go out there and compete. So if you can do that, why not give it a go. I guess that's my thinking.

Q. Why do you think this golf course fates your game so well, like you mentioned before? And have you had a chance to play it this week?
RORY McILROY: No. I'm playing in the Pro-Am at 1:50, so that will be the first time I get to look at it and the first time I'll get to see these changes on 12 and 13.

I don't know what it is. I think you have to, you have to take advantage of the par 5s. There's certain holes out here that are gettable and you have to birdie them. I think I basically birdied every par 5 last year or pretty close to it and there's just -- there's some really strong par 4s. I think all the par 3s are very strong.

It's a nice mix of, you know, par 5s that you can score on, tough par 4s, which I'm usually pretty good at, and then tough par 3s. That's the -- I think that sets up well for my game. It's more of a ball-striker's golf course than anything else, and I think that's what I've done so well, the two times that I've won here.

Q. Since you're talking about the par 5s, what's your basic strategy to play the 18th hole? Do you try anything in practice rounds that you put into play during the tournament?
RORY McILROY: Not really. I think it's one of those holes where it sort of dictates to you where you hit it, depending on what way the wind is. It's usually either a 3-wood or a driver just straight over that middle bunker. Everything sort of kicks down to the right and then you're leaving yourself in anything from sort of a 5-iron to 3-wood depending on wind conditions and stuff.

Usually if you give a good tee shot away, you try and go for that green. If the pin is on the left-hand side, you try and miss it on the right. When the pin is on the right-hand side, you try and miss it on the left. It's a pretty severe green. Just really being aware of where that pin placement is, and if you do go for the green, where the easiest up-and-down is.

Q. Given the great amount of success you've had here, fair to say you'd be disappointed if this tournament fell by the wayside along with the proposed reordering of tournaments?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I guess so. We'll have to wait and see what happens in the future. Yeah, of the courses coming up. I definitely feel more comfortable on this one. If this one were to be missed, it would definitely be a lot of opportunity. We'll see what happens in the future. I hope we keep coming back to the Boston area because I think it's one of the best-attended and best-supported events of the year. It's always a good atmosphere and the guys like to play here.

Q. Do you prefer Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts?
RORY McILROY: Starbucks.

Q. What kind of job do you think the FedExCup has done in identifying the best player of the year? And have you ever thought about what tweaks you might make under a shorter post-season?
RORY McILROY: It's hard when I won the Player of the Year in 2012 and 2014 and didn't win the FedExCup. I think it definitely -- it rewards people that play well this time of the year; that they get hot in the Playoffs. Geez, like you to have a football team that goes 16-0 during the regular season that gets beaten in first round of the Playoffs and they go home. They should be the best team of the year and all of a sudden they get beat in one match and they are not going to the Super Bowl. It's a tough one.

Q. Would you tweak the system --
RORY McILROY: It's a tough one. I definitely didn't feel like I played my best golf last year but I got hot at the right time and I won the FedExCup. I think that's the excitement of it. It's volatile and you can move up and you can move down. I think the guys sort of like that because it gives them a chance to make the most of what maybe hasn't been a great year, but it always gives an advantage to the guys that are at the top of the rankings to know that they start at one and two, or they start at whatever. You look at Dustin and Jordan last week, they have played some of the best golf all year and those two are up there at the end of the week.

But it's always an exciting finish. I've been a part of a few of them, and I've been on the wrong side of it a couple of times; I was on the right side of it. I don't know if I would tweak it that much.

Like in 2012 and 2014, I was cursing how much THE TOUR Championship was weighted and how much that sort of slightly differed the result. But then last year I was loving it because it's like I went from sixth and I won it and all of a sudden I won $10 million; great. So it works both ways.

Q. It's been a month since you made the change on the bag. Has the change in voice given you back something you were lacking?
RORY McILROY: I don't know if I would say I was lacking. I was just getting increasingly frustrated and frustrated for the wrong reasons. I think having Harry on the bag, I've been happier and more jovial out there and not getting as hard on myself that. Can only help. That's sort of, if anything, that's what has helped over these past few weeks is sort of taken things in my stride; if I hit a bad shot, forget about it and talk about something else. Just try and keep going.

Q. You alluded to this earlier, but your results coming into this event are very similar to your results coming into last year's event. Do you see it as like the same situation, or because of the injuries and the other changes, is it somewhat different than last year?
RORY McILROY: I see it as a similar situation. I feel like I'm still very capable of winning, you know, one or two of these next three events and giving myself a chance to win the FedExCup.

I don't feel like I'm limited at all on the golf course. I'm a little sore. I'm a little stiff when I wake up in the mornings when I've played and practice a little bit. But it doesn't hinder me while I'm out there. I feel like it's a very similar position to where I was last year.

Q. Rory, you said you are not fan to any club. Are you fan of yourself then?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I'd like to think so. I think you have to be. There's a balance of you have to be very -- you have to believe in what you do and you have to have belief in yourself. But at the same time, you have to be able to critique something that isn't working and take it from both sides. You have to be able to take the praise and take that, or give yourself praise; but also, give yourself criticism when it's needed.

Yeah, I think everyone has to be a fan of themselves. I mean, you have -- to if you don't like yourself, you know, who can you like, I guess. This is turning into a philosophy session.

JOHN BUSH: Good luck this week.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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