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BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 23, 2018

Rory McIlroy

Surrey, England

MICHAEL GIBBONS: Rory. Thank for joining us, as always. Welcome back. Thoughts and feelings on the week ahead, young man.

RORY McILROY: Thank you. Yeah, it's good to be back. I haven't been here for the last couple years. I didn't feel like it just quite fit my schedule in 2016, and then injured last year.

I like the golf course. I think they have made some great changes. It's definitely in the best shape that I've ever seen it in before. I think the good edge we are over the last couple of weeks has helped that.

It's shaping up to be a good week and I'm happy to be here. Did some good work in Florida last week on my swing and hopefully I can see some good signs with that over the course of the next few days, as well. Yeah, glad to be here and looking forward to getting going.

Q. Four years ago, you came here, you won and it all snowballed from there and you had the best season of your career. Are you hoping that the weather might kick you on to do something similar this week?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, something. I guess all you need is that spark or that catalyst. I felt like my game was trending in the right direction in 2014, but didn't quite have the win. I didn't expect -- on that Sunday, I was seven shots going into the last day. I didn't expect to win. I just wanted to go out and play a good final round.

Yeah, it did snowball from there and I got on to a nice little bit of a hot streak, and I'd love to be able to do something like that again. I've got a busy summer coming up. There's a lot of big tournaments to play in. Still got three major championships and Ryder Cup, and everything else.

So yeah, maybe this could be the spark that gets that all going again.

Q. Just on the course, what do you make of the changes, more specifically, what do you like about them?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, so I mean, they have taken quite a few of the fairway bunkers out, which is good. It let's guys be more aggressive off the tee if you want to be. It's still -- this course is still very much a premium on hitting the ball in the fairway, and fairways and greens and good ball-striking, that will always win out around this place.

But it just gives you options. I think over the past few years here, I always felt the longer hitters were handcuffed and there was a lot of 4-irons off tees and a lot of positional play where at least guys now can think about using their length as an advantage.

And then the green complexes are a bit better. They have relayed the greens. The green surfaces are fantastic. They are a lot better than they used to be. Overall I think they have made some really good changes.

Q. You obviously won here in 2014 but you've had four missed cuts in eight appearances. How would you describe your relationship with this golf course?
RORY McILROY: I think you just described it for me. It's just been a bit up-and-down. It's a course where if you're not quite on, you can get frustrated easily and sort of let it go from there.

If you're playing well and you have the ball under control, it feels quite easy because you can hit fairways and hit greens and give yourself chances. So it sort of -- I think it just magnifies either side of your golf game, whether you're playing well, you can do great, and whether you're playing badly, it really -- it frustrates you and it's hard to get out of that.

But yeah, I've had my fair share of bad play here but I still feel like I've played well enough to still have some good memories and draw on some good experiences and it's a bit of a new course, for not everyone, but especially me and some of the other guys over the last couple years. I think if I can hit the ball the way I know that I can and control my shots into these greens, I'll have a chance.

Q. How did you feel chipping a football on to the green with the Manchester United guys?
RORY McILROY: Unfortunately mine didn't make it to the green. I think that was the first football I kicked since 2015 (laughter). Yeah, not great. Not that that's an excuse.

Q. Did they give you any tips?
RORY McILROY: No.

MICHAEL GIBBONS: They weren't so good themselves.

RORY McILROY: Don't know about that.

Q. Will you be watching the Champions League final?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I'll be putting my Real Madrid jersey on, yeah.

I think it's great that a British team's in the final, and look, if Liverpool can start off the match like they did against Roma that first leg, they have got a good chance. As much as I'm a United fan, and United fans are supposed to hit Liverpool, I think it would be great to see a British team win, hopefully.

Q. Talking about the spark to light the season when you've already had a win, what do you want to draw out of this season?
RORY McILROY: The positives this year have definitely been -- the win at Bay Hill was great. I think playing my way into the final group at Augusta was fantastic, as well, so they were real steps forward compared to, say, the last 18 months. So I just want to really -- I just feel like it's been a little bit inconsistent. I've had some really good results and I've had three missed cuts, so it's been a bit up-and-down where if I can just get my play a little bit more consistent and swing a little more consistently, that would be -- that would be a step in the right direction.

Q. Is it close?
RORY McILROY: I think it is, yeah.

Q. Playing golf with Donald Trump, what were your experiences --
RORY McILROY: For a 72-year-old man, he hits it all right. Apart from that, I played with him and had a good time and learnt a bit more about what goes on in the political system in the US. But you know, apart from that, I can't really say much more.

Q. There was a pole published yesterday that puts you as the U.K.'s most famous sports person. Do you enjoy fame? Is it something you have to deal with? What's your approach to it? Is it something you've grown to accept?
RORY McILROY: Probably something I've grown to accept. I dreamed of being a great golfer. I never dreamed of the other stuff. I feel very privileged that I'm in the position that I'm in and I can basically pursue my dream of being the best golfer in the world, and obviously that starts to cross over into different things.

But I just try to live my life the way I normally would, and yeah, but I don't -- I never dreamed of being famous. I never wanted to be famous. I wanted to be known for my golf and that was it.

Q. Do you have a different approach to on-course or off-course? Do you hide away off course?
RORY McILROY: Try to. Try to.

Q. Christopher wants to know how much of a difference does it make to come back to a course where you've won before, confidence-wise, mentality-wise?
RORY McILROY: It does make a difference. You know, I think if you've got really good form around a golf course, and you take somewhere like Dubai or Abu Dhabi where I rarely finish out of the Top-10 and feel like I have a chance every time I play; it's a little different than coming to a place where I've had four missed cuts and one win.

But as I was saying earlier, you can draw on memories and you can draw on some of the great shots you hit that week. Four years ago seems like a long time ago. A lot's happened since then but I still remember the final round and the stuff that I did, and hopefully I can draw on those memories this week.

Q. And Thomas wanting to know, what do you think the keys are to scoring well this week?
RORY McILROY: I think you've got to play the par 5s well. You know, 17 and 18 present you with a nice chance to finish with two birdies. The 12th hole is a mid-iron into the green. The fourth hole, again, is a mid-iron into it, so if you can play the par 5s well, be pretty conservative on the tough holes, stay away from the big number, I think that's a good approach to this golf course.

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