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DUBAI DUTY FREE IRISH OPEN HOSTED BY THE RORY FOUNDATION

July 8, 2018

Rory McIlroy

Ballyliffin, Republic of Ireland

Q. What do you take from this week into The Open now?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, there was improvements over the weekend, definitely today. I hit the ball the best I've hit it on Thursday, and I felt like I sort of kept it up. It maybe wasn't quite as good the last three days, but I putted a lot better today. I felt a lot better about it. So that was great.

I've got a week to prepare now for The Open Championship and at least I know what to work on and hopefully I'll turn up to Carnoustie better to go.

Q. What felt better today on the greens?
RORY McILROY: A little bit of a setup change. Sometimes when I get too square with my feet, my upper body can get a little bit left and every putt I was missing was to the left. The more I can be just a little bit open with my lower body, I can see it a little bit better. I'm right eye dominant, as well. It's easier to see it down the line if I'm a little more open.

It was just an alignment issue and felt better today and felt like I could see the lines and I was starting the ball on a better line. I held some putts, which was good to see.

Q. An amazing week, again, as host and the crowd, the weather, everyone is raving about this Ballyliffin course. Just sum up what a great week it's been from your point of view as host?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's been incredible. A lot of people were asking me, what's Ballyliffin like; we haven't really heard of it before. I think it's a hidden gem because of all the great golf there is around here. Especially east, we have Portstewart last year and obviously The Open is going to Portrush next year.

I think Ballyliffin has been showcased in all its glory with the weather, and it's been fantastic. The field was good. It looks like it's going to be an exciting finish. Jon Rahm came back to defend a title which I was really pleased about. All in all, it's been a great week. Wish I could have played a little bit better, but I can't complain too much.

Q. Positive end to the week for you?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, maybe not in terms of the score. I felt like I maybe played a bit better, but I putted better and I felt more comfortable on the greens, which was a great thing. I feel like I've made some improvements over the last couple days on that and it gives me -- at least I know I'm trending in the right direction heading into The Open Championship.

Q. In terms of those improvements, can you maybe give us an indication as to what you've done differently?
RORY McILROY: Just worked on my alignment and setup. My lines were getting crossed and I was struggling to see the line and once I started to set up a little bit better to it, I could start to see down my line and I started to start the ball on my intended line and then I could read putts better and it all snowballed from there. I felt a lot better on the greens today. Just a little bit of work that I did on Friday night and Saturday definitely helped and you know, if I can continue working on that over the next few days, hopefully I'll be ready to go for The Open.

Q. In terms of your schedule, before traveling to The Open, what are the plans?
RORY McILROY: I'm heading to London tonight and playing in a pro/member thing with a friend tomorrow and going to hang around in London for a couple of days. Probably get back home and just prepare for The Open. That's really it. Play some links golf, and probably head over to Carnoustie on Sunday or Monday, and yeah, turn my attention to there.

Q. Tell us about how much you've enjoyed the hosting element of this tournament for the last four years.
RORY McILROY: It's been an eye-opener to see how much goes into sort of running a golf tournament and being involved in a golf tournament. It's been great for me, especially for the future. This probably isn't going to be the last time that I'm involved in a golf tournament, but it's been a great learning experience, and it's been great in terms of who we've been able to help and what we've achieved, you know, from a charitable standpoint.

All in all, it's been a great four years and I'm looking forward to going to Lahinch next year maybe with not quite as much responsibility, but I'm looking forward to getting down there. I haven't been to Lahinch in a lot of years, so I'm looking forward to that.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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