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BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

September 22, 2019

Rory McIlroy

Surrey, England

RORY McILROY: Obviously the start was undesirable to say the least. You know, on Thursday night, if someone had of told me on Sunday I'd have a chance of finishing in the Top-10, I would have taken it. I would said, that would be great because that means I've played some great golf over the next three days to do that.

To play like this over the weekend, even to just grind it out and be here for the weekend and make the most of opportunity, yeah, proud of myself just how I hung in there.

Q. Consistency you pride yourself on. Give us an idea, the support has been overwhelming. What's it been like for you?
RORY McILROY: It's unbelievable. You know, Wentworth and this tournament always does get great crowds. I think, you know, yesterday morning, for me playing with Pádraig and Tommy, obviously it's a pretty good grouping. But nine o'clock in the morning, and you're walking down -- I was walking down the 4th fairway and I just looked back up the hill, and I couldn't believe how many people were out there early on a Saturday morning.

Then the crowd just built as the day went on. I don't know if they have had record crowds this week but I think the weather has obviously helped and probably one of the strongest fields they have had in a lot of years. It's been incredible. It's been a great week. We were going to get a little bit of rain and we had to play through some of that, but yeah, wonderful support.

Q. Talk about the progress you've made in your game this week.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it was pretty good after the last 11 holes on Thursday just to be able to turn it around somewhat and make the cut, and then you know, I played great over the weekend. I hit a lot of better shots. I just needed a couple days to shake the rust off.

Even just not playing for two weeks, taking a little bit of a break, it takes time to get back into it. Good learning lesson. If I'm going to come into a tournament, I probably need a couple of rounds of golf under my belt before I start, and I didn't really have that coming into this week. You know, I paid the price with the first two days, but obviously got it going over the weekend.

Q. How much confidence does this if I have you going into next weekend?
RORY McILROY: It does. I think my dad will be happier than I am, because he at least has a partner now that's playing pretty well.

We're looking forward to it. It's a very relaxed week. I'm going to go up there and have a good time. St. Andrews is a great town obviously. You know, just spend a bit of family time, spend a lot of time with him on the course which will be really cool.

And try not to take it too seriously because I think if you take these Pro-Ams too serious, you start to get frustrated with how long you're out there and all that sort of stuff. So try to keep it lighthearted and hopefully that's the key to playing some good golf.

Q. Finally, your thoughts on the date change for this event.
RORY McILROY: I think it's been wonderful. The first three days, the weather was fantastic. I think the crowds are as good as I've ever seen. Obviously we had to play through a little bit of rain, but it's still mild. When the date was in May, you had the possibility that you had really cold conditions and you had to play through some tough weather, where I feel like in September, the weather seems to be a little bit better in this part of the world this time of the year.

I think it's been a fantastic change. It doesn't clash with any big PGA Tour events. It's been a strong field, also. You know, I can't see the date changing for this tournament any time soon.

Q. It got pretty nasty out there at times but a lovely finish, you must be pleased with what you've done?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I am. I'm pleased with how the last few days have went. Obviously it wasn't a great start. If someone had of told me on Thursday night that I would be in a position to make a Top-10, I would have taken it.

So some better golf over the last few days, and nice to finish off with a couple of good scores. Because it wasn't looking like that at the start of the week, so I'm pleased with how I just hung in there.

Q. A nice back nine in general. The rustiness you spoke of the first few days, is that completely out of the system now?
RORY McILROY: It is. I don't even feel like I'm swinging it that much better than I was at the start of the week, but I'm just managing my game a little better and I think it takes awe a couple days just to get back into that.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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