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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 17, 2019

Rory McIlroy

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

THE MODERATOR: We want to welcome and congratulate our 2019 winner of THE PLAYERS Championship, Rory McIlroy. Tough conditions today, an amazing leaderboard, but your play held down the stretch for your 15th PGA TOUR win and your first win here at TPC Sawgrass.

Going through what you've been through today and over the course of the start of the year, just what does this win mean to you?

RORY MCILROY: Yeah, it means a lot. You know, I knew today was going to be difficult just by looking at the forecast. But the good thing is it wasn't just difficult for me, it was difficult for everyone else. I thought anything in the 60s today was probably going to get it done for me, and I didn't quite get to that number, but I needed to show a lot of character out there, too, over through 4, double bogeyed 4, hit it in the water, and I think all the experiences I've had over the last few weeks in terms of trying to win and not getting over the line definitely helped me today.

Maybe if I hadn't have had those experiences, I wouldn't be sitting up here with this trophy, so I'm thankful and grateful for those experiences I've had this year. Yes, it would have been nice to maybe get another win, but it sort of made it all worth it, the fact that this win has come at this golf tournament, a tournament where Sawgrass and I didn't have the greatest relationship starting off, and I'm very thankful to the PGA TOUR for putting it back to March. That was very helpful for me. Thank you.

Yeah, I think -- I'm just really proud of myself, the way I played the last few holes, especially after bogeying the 14th from the middle of the fairway. The second shot on 15 to set up that birdie putt was the best shot of the day by far. And then how I played the last few holes, I birdied 16, kept telling myself on the way to the 17th tee, just make three more good swings. That's all you need to do, make a good swing in here, two good swings at the last, and this thing is yours, and to step up and make those three good swings, it's very satisfying knowing that it's in there when it needs to be. Very proud, very honored to be able to call myself a PLAYERS champion, a tournament I haven't won before, so great to obviously add to the CV.

Q. What was your club on 15, and secondly, what was the toughest part for you today?
RORY MCILROY: It was a 6-iron. 6-iron from 180 yards.

I think the toughest part is seeing yourself up there, whatever score you're on, and seeing 10 or 11 guys with a chance. But I sort of thought back to -- there's been a few times where I've been in positions like that, and I've taken the tournament by the scruff of the neck. I thought back to Crooked Stick in 2012, BMW Championship there. There was a lot of guys up around the lead, and I made a really good run on the back nine, was able to pull that off, and I sort of thought back to that today. I don't know why it popped into my head, but I guess all these experiences are so helpful to draw on.

I drew on that experience today and the experiences over the past few weeks and stayed patient and stayed in the right frame of mind, especially being 2-over through 4, but I think that the start yesterday helped me today, as well.

I guess that was probably the hardest thing was just getting yourself to the point mentally where you say, well, why not me; this is my tournament, I'm going to finish it off.

Q. The tournament would seem to play no favorites still with you and Jim finishing 1 and 2, sort of vastly different styles of play. Why are you so thankful that it's in March?
RORY MCILROY: I think the course -- even just the color of the golf course, the fairways and the rough are defined, where back in May, the fairway and the rough were the same color, so you didn't have definition in terms of where you were hitting your tee shots, and I definitely drove it better this week on this golf course because of that, so even just that simple fact of the overseeding and having that darker green grass in the rough and the lighter green grass in the fairway definitely helped, and it -- I think around the greens it just makes it -- I was saying to Jason out there, we were saying like when you get into this Bermuda in May, it takes a lot of skill out of it. It's sort of hit and hope and you have to be lucky and you're guessing half the time, where the way the overseed is around the greens now, you can actually showcase some of your skills and you can play shots with pretty certain knowing what it's going to do, how it's going to react.

You know, it lets guys sort of showcase their skills a little bit more and play some different shots. So I think that's the two big differences why it's better for me in March.

Q. Going back to the shot on 4 with the pin in the lower left shelf, did you get a really bad lie in that rough that kind of caused maybe a pull?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I wasn't aiming that far left for sure. Yeah, it came out soft and just came out a bit left. Yeah, it was a pretty bad lie. I was probably -- I was trying to land it like 10 yards on the green just right of the hazard, and if it had have been just that little further right, it would have probably landed in a good spot, but it just came out a little bit left.

Q. Have you ever won a tournament in St. Paddy's Day before?
RORY MCILROY: The Saturday of Bay Hill last year was St. Patrick's day, so it's not a bad weekend for me. I've got a bit of green on.

Q. Going back to 15, you're coming off the bogey, you hit a bad drive into the bunker, and that's a long walk to your ball. Do any doubts creep in? How do you battle that and regain that confidence for that finishing stretch?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, well, I saw, where one of the marshals was standing -- I thought there was like this pine straw and sort of fescue or love grass just to the right of the bunker, and I thought, oh, I couldn't see my ball in the bunker, so I was like, oh, no, it's in there. And then I think when I saw my ball in the bunker, it was almost like a, oh, it's actually okay. Like it actually lifted me a little bit, and it was a good lie in the bunker.

But no, no doubts crept in at all. I was just trying to focus on the next shot, and it was a really tight hole location, so I'm just trying to play the sensible shot, get it beyond the pin a little bit and give myself a putt at it. But no, no -- at that point I wasn't really thinking about the tournament, I was just thinking about, okay, I've put myself out of position on this hole, how can I get myself back into position.

Q. Obviously there's been a lot of discussion about chances the past few months, final rounds and all that. How much had it weighed on you, or was it an annoyance? And how much of a relief is this to do it this way?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I guess I've been good. I've been disciplined this year in not reading a lot of stuff about myself, so that has helped because I haven't read any of the negativity or anything that -- and obviously I know that it's going to happen because of who I am and what I've done in the past or whatever, but I really have left each tournament happy. Okay, Kapalua I had a chance, but Xander shoots 11-under and Mexico DJ does what he does. LA, not birdieing 17 and then bogeying the last, that was a little bit painful. But I have to -- you know, when you reflect on the week, you have to reflect on the 72 holes and not just the last two holes you played, and every time I reflected on the 72 I've played, I've been pretty happy. I've done everything I've wanted to do. I looked at my stats at the end of every week. I'm leading strokes gained tee to green, I'm putting well, my around the greens is good. Everything was in a really good place, and that's why I was just preaching patience, and it was just a matter of time.

Easier said than done, obviously, but I think having that attitude let me go out there this week after the disappointment of Bay Hill on Sunday, and I said, that's the great thing about golf, you can get straight back on the horse and you have another opportunity the very next week, and not a lot of sports or sports people have that luxury. So I just wanted to take advantage of it.

I know I'm playing well. I know I'm shooting the scores and hitting the shots, it's just a matter of doing it for 72 holes.

Q. This consistent spell of your career is very, very different to when you were younger. There was kind of epic peaks and troughs at times and now it's far, far more consistent. Do you know why that is? Is it just maturity, your personality? What's the change?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I think it's a lot of things. It's, I think, maturity. I think it's been having a focus over the last six or seven months on my attitude, especially my attitude to golf, and not letting golf define who I am as a person, trying to keep the two things very separate, because one thing that I used to do in the past is I'd shoot -- I'd let what I shot that day influence who I was or my mood or -- and to try and keep those two things very separate is something I've worked hard on because who I am as a person isn't who I am as a golfer, and it took me a while to get to that point where I realized who those two people were.

So that has been a big thing. And I think that's been the big difference between the highs and lows of the last few years and the more consistent play, even over the last 12 months. I've had two wins in the last 12 months, but even the play in between that has been pretty good, top 5s, top 10s, given myself a chance most weeks.

Q. Would you say this has been the most success?
RORY MCILROY: Oh, a hundred percent.

Q. Can you talk about how much Brad Faxon has helped you with the putter, your overall mindset with that club?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, Brad has been a massive help. We got together about a year ago just before Bay Hill, and most of Brad and I's work is done away from the golf course, away from the putting green. It's catching up for a coffee, it's chatting. He's a very smart individual and has got a lot of experience in the game and has played obviously at a very high level. So just to chat to him about certain things and how he felt on the course and especially how he felt over putts where there might have been a bit of pressure or any of that, that's been a big help.

But I think everyone -- yeah, we're singling out Brad because my putting has definitely improved over the 12 months, but everyone on my team, my caddie Harry, my manager Sean, my coach Michael, my wife Erica, everyone plays their part in me getting to this point. So I think it's unfair to just single out one person. I want to single out them all because they all have a very big role to play, and I'm very appreciative of their support.

Q. Obviously your first win in one year to the day almost; does it feel like it's been longer considering the expectations, the near misses, and also how does this set you up for the Masters, something that has eluded you?
RORY MCILROY: I mean, it's felt -- I think the years start to go shorter. It hasn't felt like a year. It seems like only a few months ago that I won at Bay Hill.

I'm just -- I'm so pleased that this good run of golf has culminated in getting a win early in the season, but it's not just a win early in the season, it's a massive win. It's a win that -- it's a tournament that I've never won before on a golf course that I've had mixed results on, so I feel like I'm going to take even more from that, and I had to grind it out down the stretch, as well, which I'll take a lot from.

I don't want to look too far ahead. I really want to enjoy this. I've got a week off. I've actually got an interior design meeting tomorrow morning to pick out some stuff for our new house, so that's the next port of call.

But yeah, I just want to enjoy this and enjoy the week, and I'll turn my attention to what's coming up in a few days' time.

CHRIS REIMER: Can I recommend gold is a nice color?

RORY MCILROY: Yeah, it certainly is. Thank you.

Q. This is not the first time in your career that you've had an extended stretch of good play. How would you compare your confidence sitting right here versus perhaps 2012 or 2014 or some of those other high points?
RORY MCILROY: Similar -- I don't know if I like the word confidence. I like just I'm comfortable. I'm very comfortable with where everything is. And yes, confidence comes from that, or I don't know what comes first, but I've sort of simplified everything. I'm working on really one thing in my golf swing. I sort of haven't -- I literally -- I do some practice around the short game area when I get to tournaments. I've done very little at home, and it's probably the best my short game has ever been. I'm not saying that I don't practice, but I'm saying that I feel like I've figured out a way to manage my time better and what needs addressed and what doesn't. So yeah, I'm comfortable.

I go back to 2012, yes, I won five times, but I think I missed five cuts that year. 2014, I had the wins -- yeah, in terms of just the run of golf, I think this is the best start to a year I've probably made, and I think I'm on a really good path, and I just want to keep going. I think -- I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm confident in the path that I'm on. So yeah, I'm as confident as I ever have been with that.

Q. Rory, when that last putt dropped on 18, your demeanor didn't look markedly different than last week or Mexico City, and is that part of the process that's by design, that the successes won't define you any more than the failures?
RORY MCILROY: Yep, a hundred percent. Like of course I desperately wanted the win today, but it's just another day. It's just another step in the journey. I've been preaching perspective, and I feel like I've got a pretty good handle on that perspective.

It's a glimpse. My career is hopefully going to last another 15 or 20 years, so one tournament or one day or one month in those 20 years is nothing. It's just a glimpse. So it doesn't change anything. It doesn't change who I am. It looks great on my resume. I'm very happy about that. It's another step in the right direction.

But that's all it is to me. It's a huge tournament to win. I'm very proud and very honored, but it's just a step in the right direction.

Q. You spoke outside that you feel like you're starting the second phase of your career. Are your expectations different than Phase I?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah. I mean, I came here as a 19 year old in 2009, missing the cut, getting kicked out of bars in Jax Beach for being under age, so I've come a long way in those 10 years.

CHRIS REIMER: We have something in common, Rory.

RORY MCILROY: Thanks. So to think about that guy to where I'm at -- it was beyond my wildest dreams that I'd be sitting up here with 24 worldwide wins and four majors and five Ryder Cups played. I mean, at that point I didn't know what to expect. I came on TOUR and all I wanted to do was keep my card, and from there, you grow and you learn and you become a better player, and you realize that there's a lot more that you can achieve. I think all the experience that I've racked up over those first 10 or 11 years means that I'm way for prepared for these next 10, and if you're more prepared, hopefully that means you can have more success.

Q. As you went through this process of trying to separate Rory the golfer and Rory the interior designer, did you work with --
RORY MCILROY: The golfer is better.

Q. Did you work with anyone, or did you figure it out yourself?
RORY MCILROY: No, I've worked with a couple of people. I've read a lot of books. And you know, I've been -- it hasn't been preached to me. It's something where it's been a journey for myself, and I've figured it out myself, but I've definitely had some people point me in the right direction.

Q. And secondly, since you've never played the 17th with a one-shot lead, having made so many free and aggressive swings during the day, what's it like standing on that tee knowing that your only failure is not hitting it on dry land?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah. You know, I think it's -- all I wanted to do was step up, hit a little flighted hold 9-iron over that bunker. I wasn't looking at the pin. Obviously I wasn't. But as a pretty decent golfer I think you look at that green and just say, okay, just hit this green. You're going to -- it's going to be a really bad swing or something is going to be really off not to hit that green.

So I picked my target, I choked down, a couple little rehearsals of the swing I wanted to make, and I went. That was it. There was no -- again, my thing was it was the first good swing of three swings I needed to make to win the tournament.

Q. You talked about your team just a little bit. What has it meant to you to have Harry on your bag and part of your team, and was there anything that Harry said to you today or yesterday with the way that you started that helped you end up right here?
RORY MCILROY: A hundred percent. Harry has been a massive part of this and making me more comfortable on the golf course. He's been on the bag for just under two years, like 20 months or something like that. We've got two wins, but I feel like even the experiences we've had on the golf course already have been huge. Harry has been a big part of the success. I don't think people give -- they just think he's my best friend and I got him on the bag because I didn't want to listen to anyone else. But that's not true. Harry is an accomplished golfer, and he has turned into one of the best caddies out here, if not the best. He's so committed. He's so professional. And having him by my side out there is so good, and it's so comforting.

He knows when to talk to me, whenever I need distracted, in terms of not thinking too much about what's going on around me in the tournament, and he also knows when to say a couple of things. Yeah, he said a couple of good things to me after the double bogey on 4, walking to the 5th tee, but we have a constant dialogue. We chat, we text every night and sort of where we are, what our game plan is the next day. He's been a big part of this.

Q. Rory, you mentioned the swing on 17. I'm just curious if there was a swing out there that was nerve-racking, what was it, or the most nerve-racking swing? And how did you kind of get through it?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, 18. 18 tee shot was the one that -- it was probably the most difficult shot that I had all day knowing I had a 4 to win. I just picked my target, I stepped up, and I just made a committed swing. And the way golf works and the way I've always done -- this goes back to the Hong Kong Open in 2008, and I had a chance to win there, and I was really uncomfortable with the 18th tee shot all week, and on the last hole, it was a 3-wood and I just said to myself, if you make a good swing at this, no matter what happens -- I don't believe in anything really, but I think like the golf gods will reward you for just making a good committed swing. And any time I have a tough tee shot, I stand up, I pick my target, and I swing as hard as I can. And usually it works out because you've committed to it, you've got a clear head, and the last two days I've piped it down 18 by just remembering that tiny little thing from Hong Kong 10 years ago.

Q. Last night you went to the driving range after meeting with the media. How common is that for you to do that during this stretch that you've had where you've had some close calls? Was that unique, and what, if anything, did you figure out?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, it was a little unique. And it was unique because I feel the problems that I had yesterday came from the strongest club in my bag, the driver. I only hit 4 of 13 fairways. I had driven it very well the first two days. So I just -- I felt like something just wasn't right. I was losing it right for the most part. I was just getting a little quick from the top in transition. I wasn't really completing my backswing. I was getting on to my left side too early, getting way ahead of it, and I was hitting these shots to the right. So just worked on that.

That's another good reason Harry is on the bag. He's a good player. We've played together for so long. We've taken lessons from the same guy for 20 years. He knows my swing just as good as I do, so it's nice to have an extra pair of eyes there if I ever need it.

Q. You're already the betting favorite for the Masters. Do you feel like you might have to do anything different to manage the buildup between now and April?
RORY MCILROY: No, just keep doing the same thing. I feel like I've managed the first six weeks or six tournaments of the year very well, even with some noise around me, whether it is, he can't close, he can't plays on Sundays, blah, blah, blah. I've just got to do my thing, and if I go and I concentrate on me, control what I can do, good golf and good attitude takes care of the rest. And if I go to Augusta with a similar golf game to what I have now and the attitude I've shown over the first few weeks of the year, I think I'll have a great chance.

Q. How satisfying was it to answer that noise that you've heard the past couple months today?
RORY MCILROY: Again, I don't play golf to answer -- I play golf for myself. I play golf because I love the game and I know that I have a talent for it and I want to make the most of it. So I'm just satisfied that I've added another great tournament to my CV, and it puts me in a great spot going forward.

CHRIS REIMER: Congratulations. You certainly closed the deal today. Well done.

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