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THE 147TH OPEN

July 20, 2018

Rory McIlroy

Angus, Scotland, United Kingdom

MIKE WOODCOCK: Okay. I'd just like to welcome the former Open champion, Rory McIlroy, to the interview room. Rory is now 4-under par for the Championship, one off the lead.

Rory, that was a pretty good round today, 2-under par, 69, considering the conditions. You must be pretty pleased to be top 10 and close to the lead.

RORY McILROY: Geez, under those conditions, I would have taken that score today going out. It wasn't that bad, but it was just damp enough and cold enough that the game plan that I was trying to adapt to be aggressive and hit driver a lot, I just couldn't do it. All the bunkers were in play. And then with it being wet, with the ball being wet and the club face, the possibility of that getting wet, you know, the spin rate goes right on on the driver, and it could start to go either way.

So a lot more irons off tees and a lot more conservative, but ended up being the same score. So I'm pretty pleased with that.

Q. And, obviously, patience is quite important in a round like that?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, a lot of patience. I was going really well through 11 holes. I hadn't made a bogey. I would have loved to have had a bogey-free round. I made a bogey on 12 and 15, but I made enough birdies to cancel them out on the back nine.

Yeah, you need patience. I got a few good up-and-downs when I needed to today. On a day like that, you just need to scramble and keep yourself in it.

Q. Rory, you said all year what you'd like to do this year is give yourself opportunities. Is this yet classed as one? And do you take it, if you keep knocking on that big door, it will fall down? Or is that getting ahead of yourself a wee bit?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, there's still a long way to go, depending on what happens tomorrow going into Sunday. Then over 36 holes, a lot of stuff and a lot of things can happen.

I'm in a great position going into the third day. I was probably in -- I was probably top ten going into the third day at Birkdale last year, so similar enough, but, yeah, I'm happy. I feel like I played in the toughest of the conditions, and definitely our side of the draw, we had to sort of tough it out a little bit. It was a little more difficult. So I'm happy to be in with a shot.

Hopefully, I can go out and play well again tomorrow, and then that will be a big chance going into Sunday.

Q. Rory, do you like playing in the rain more than you did when you were younger? Or are you just better at it?
RORY McILROY: Just better at it. I wouldn't say I like it. I'd much rather be sitting here not in damp clothes and a T-shirt, but it is what it is.

It was nice today. It was rainy, but it wasn't too bad, and there wasn't a lot of wind to contend with. So it was fine. It wasn't -- you know, it can get a little bit uncomfortable at times, but you just deal with it and do the best you can. I've definitely learned to handle it a little better.

Q. Rory, you spoke earlier in the week about what's happening in your younger mindset, looking back a bit towards 2007. Have you been doing that? And has it helped it?
RORY McILROY: A little bit. I just try to take a little more -- today was different. It was definitely a day where, don't shoot yourself out of the tournament instead of trying to press on and build a lead or get an advantage.

But, yeah, look, I've been a little bit too careful and tentative over the -- you know, when I've been in these big tournaments. Last day at Augusta, even the first day at Shinnecock, I just felt a little bit too -- I was holding on a little too much. So this week, one of my main thoughts is just to let it go. Just go out there and give it your all, and I'd rather feel by trying 100 percent than by sort of holding back and maybe not giving myself the opportunity to do well.

Q. Did the rain have any impact at all on softening the fairways to any degree? And what about the greens?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I don't know if -- it was probably a combination of both. The fairways definitely didn't have as much fire in them. But it was cold as well. So the ball just wasn't going very far. I was surprised there was a couple of holes where I thought I'd hit shots that were going to end up in a fairway bunker or close to it, and they were a good bit short of that.

So I think the fire has been taken a little bit out of the fairways and the greens as well, but the greens have been sort of receptive all week. Even yesterday, they're so much greener than the fairways. You still have to judge that first big hop that you get and even more so in the wet because it's going to skid off the top of the surface.

But the shot that I played on 17 to get it up and down today, I wouldn't have been able to play a shot like that yesterday with how firm it was. So the moisture definitely helped me with that.

Q. Rory, sorry, you may have just addressed this a little bit, but some of the commentators were saying the rough was harder with the rain. Would you agree with that?
RORY McILROY: No. I think the rough is easier with the rain because -- especially a lot of the rough here is -- it's growing towards the green. So if you hit it in the rough, and with wet rough, the club is just going to slide into the ball, and it's not going to turn over as easy. So any lie I had in the rough today, it was totally fine. It was almost better today than it was yesterday because you're not having to guess if it's going to fly or not. At least with the wet rough, you sort of have a little more consistency with how it's going to come out.

So, yeah, the rough has been fine.

Q. Rory, watching intermittently on TV yesterday and reading your transcript, it sounded a bit like pinball yesterday. Today did you feel a bit more control? And did you feel that control is coming back for the weekend when it's surely going to count?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I mean, I didn't hit driver as much today, so I didn't have as much of a chance to hit it offline. But there were still some shots today where I missed the 6th fairway by probably 30 yards. I missed the 17th by about 30 yards. So there's still a couple of shots out there that weren't great. But at least I'm missing them in the right spots.

I know -- and this is different than the Carnoustie we usually play -- there is bailouts on either side of these fairways. If you know where they aren't, at the last minute, you're not quite in the right position, you know that, okay, if I hit it out to the right here, I'm going to be fine.

Q. Feel good for the weekend?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I feel good. I hit the ball better. I hit a lot of really good iron shots today, especially short and mid-irons, and I putted well. So that combination is hopefully going to do well over the weekend.

Q. Rory, as you've watched Tommy Fleetwood develop the last year and a half or so as he's become more prominent, what do you see in him and his game? You, as somebody who's won multiple majors, does he have the look of a guy who's ready to break through?
RORY McILROY: 100 percent. When Tommy first came out on Tour, a little bit like me, he could only hit the ball right to left. So his swing has got a little better over the years, and he's a little more on plane, and he can hit the ball left to right now if he needs to, which is massive.

You can get by by just hitting the ball one shape out here, but the more comfortable you are working it both ways, it makes a massive difference. That was, I think, one of the reasons in 2012 why I had a great year is because I started being more comfortable getting at like right-hand flags and back-right pin positions. And it looks like it's sort of been the same for Tommy. He hits the ball very neutral now, and he can chip it both ways.

Yeah, he's a very, very solid player. He's won a lot over the last couple of years. Yeah, he had a great chance at Shinnecock. He's been putting himself in the mix. The more you do that, the more experience you gain, and from there, it's only a matter of time.

Q. Rory, you certainly putted exceptionally well today, as you did yesterday. Is there a sense that, had some of those putts dropped in -- and they were very close to dropping in. A lot of them went right up to the edge of the hole. Is there a sense of a low score in you tomorrow and Sunday?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I mean -- look, I'm sitting up here thinking I might have been able to squeeze one or two more shots out of the last couple of days, but that's it. I'm very happy with where I'm at. I missed a couple of short ones yesterday, but they were -- I holed a couple of 25-footers. So it all sort of balances itself out.

But I feel like there is low rounds in me. I felt very comfortable out there. I played within myself. I haven't taken on too much. It has felt -- I don't want to say easy, but it's felt comfortable. So if I can get on a run or get off to a fast start in the next couple of days, I don't see a ridiculously low score out there, but I definitely see something like what Tommy shot today, a 66 or a 65. I think that would be -- I think I'm capable of that, yeah.

Q. Rory, why do you think that you played carefully and tentatively in the first two majors?
RORY McILROY: I don't know, worrying too much about the result, not focusing as much on the process. Again, I don't -- I think I've learned a lot from -- you know, Sunday at Augusta was a big learning curve again for me because, even if I hadn't won that tournament, but I went down swinging and aggressive and committing to every shot, I would have walked away a lot happier.

So I'm committed to making sure, even if I don't play my best golf and don't shoot the scores I want, I'm going to go down swinging, and I'm going to go down giving it my best. I think that was it. Focusing on the results too much and not focusing on -- the result is just the byproduct of all the little things you do to lead up to that. You know, I've sometimes forgotten that, and just need to get back in that mindset.

Q. Hi, Rory. You said this a couple of times today. You have to tough it out. Could you give us the best example today of you toughing it out? And in a general sense, in the toughing-it-out stakes, how would you rate yourself right now?
RORY McILROY: I don't really know. I sort of -- I just kept levelheaded when I needed to, and you know what, I didn't let the conditions get to me. I wasn't sort of saying to myself, geez, I wish I was on the other side of the draw. I just sort of got on with it. That was really it. I just put my head down and got on with it. I knew if I went out and shot another score under par, I'd be in great position going into the weekend. That was really it.

Q. In a general sense, in terms of the other guys (no microphone).
RORY McILROY: I don't know.

Q. Rory, you said because of the conditions, you needed a more conservative strategy with more irons today. Weather permitting this weekend, you'd like to go back to more attacking with the driver and really go all out offensive?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, 100 percent. I just think with the conditions today, and as I said, with the dampness and the cold, a lot of fairway bunkers were in play with driver where, if it's dry and it's a little warmer, you're flying those bunkers. And then especially with the moisture on the club face and the ball, it just wasn't worth it.

But when I did hit driver today, I hit it well, so that was a good thing. So if the conditions do change and go back to the way they were yesterday, I'd see myself hitting a lot more drivers again, yeah.

Q. How many times did you hit the driver today?
RORY McILROY: Two, three, four -- six. Six.

Q. Rory, I know you're concentrated on this Open, but could you just cast your mind forward to next year and give us an idea of the sense of excitement at home for that Open.
RORY McILROY: Look, it's over 50 years or 60 years, I guess, from when The Open was at Portrush, and I personally never thought I'd be able to play an Open Championship at home. So it's going to be really cool. You know, I'm excited for it. The Open 2019 has been something that's been on my radar for a long time. And I think everyone's getting up for it at home as well. It's still a year away, but Portrush is looking great. They've designed a couple of new golf holes, which will be fantastic.

Yeah, as someone from that part of the world, I'm going to be very proud to showcase where I'm from and to play in front of all the people who have supported me throughout my career. It's going to be really cool to play there.

But I have to focus on these two days first. Obviously, I'd love to be able to hand the Claret Jug back to Martin Slumbers on the 1st tee of Portrush next year.

Q. Casting it back to this Open, do you have one word to describe those last three holes here. One word.
RORY McILROY: It's almost the last four. It's like 13, 14 give you a little bit of a respite, and then 15 in is -- it's a bit of a slog, I guess. It's a slog. It's sort of you make four pars there, and you're very happy. I've played those eight holes this week at 1-over par, and I feel pretty good about that.

Q. Can you translate "slog"?
RORY McILROY: No (laughter). Yeah, tough. "Tough" is sort of generic. Anyways, I'll get my dictionary out next time, or thesaurus.

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