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WGC HSBC CHAMPIONS

October 30, 2019

Rory McIlroy

Shanghai, China

BRIONY CARLYON: We are delighted to be joined by Rory McIlroy, back in Shanghai for the WGC-HSBC Champions.

Welcome back. Let's just touch base on being back in Sheshan, because four top 5s here in your previous visits, you must be confident, as well, with the season that you've had with three wins. How much are you looking forward to being back at the course?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's always good to be back. Sheshan has become probably one of the best venues and courses that we come to every year. I've always enjoyed playing here. I've played well. I feel like the course suits my game, and I feel like this tournament, I started coming here in 2009.

Ten years, the course and the tournament have kept on improving and progressing. It's turned into one of the better events that we play every year, so excited to be back. I didn't play so well last year here, so I've got a good opportunity to play well this week.

You know, still quite a bit to play for until the end of the year. I want to get as many World Ranking points as I possibly can and try to close that gap on No. 1. So you know, pretty motivated coming into the week.

BRIONY CARLYON: You spoke about closing in on world No. 1 as a goal for 2019. How to you assess, as we come to the end of 2019 and looking ahead to 2020, when you do make new goals or look ahead to the future, as well?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, I feel like this year's went very well. I played very consistently. I think last week in Japan was my 17th Top-10 of the year, so I've played consistent golf and I've won a few times, as well. It was great to get the win at THE TOUR Championship and win the FedExCup.

Yeah, look, I started this year maybe like 8th or 9th in the world, so to see that progress and to play so well and get myself back up to No. 2 with a chance of closing that gap, and I don't think I'll be able to quite close it as -- get there by the end of this year. But if I play well the next few weeks, you know, I'll have a great platform going into next year.

I've achieved most things that I've wanted to this year, and as you said, once I end this calendar year, I'm going to take a couple months off, December and January, and reset goals and assess where I'm at, and then go again.

But I'm happy with where everything is, and yeah, just want to finish the year off strongly because I feel the year that I've had deserves a finish like that, and you know, enjoy my time off. But as you said, reset and set new goals for next year like I always do.

Q. Your last WGC winning was 2015?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, yeah.

Q. What does it mean, this tournament, this WGC?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, WGCs are some of the biggest tournaments we play. It's always, you know, the strongest fields. You're playing against the best players in the world. To win those events, it means that you've done something very well. Yeah, you know, I had -- I played well in WGCs this year. I had a good chance to win in México. Finished second.

Had a chance to win in Memphis. Didn't quite get over the line there. Brooks played very well on that last day.

And actually played okay on the Match Play. Ended up being beaten by Tiger.

So yeah, I've always enjoyed WGCs. I think it was a real thrill to get into those fields for the first time, and then to progress and to win a couple of them and be in contention in some of them, and you're going up against some of the best players in the world; I think as a competitor, you know, that's what I want to do. I want to go up against the best players in the world more often, and you really get a chance to do that at these events.

Q. You've obviously had a very good time sort of developing through the WGC tournaments, getting better and better and getting good results. I'm just wondering, what was the atmosphere like in the locker room last week, rather than just from individuals, about Tiger doing what he did?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, hard to say. I think we all -- a lot of Tiger's competitors now are sort of my age. So we grew up trying to emulate him and idolise him.

You know, a lot of the guys -- he's opened up a lot the last few years, and you know, read a story about him last week going to the movies that day off that we had and getting stuck in the Dominos in Narita and all that stuff, and that's something that he never would have done.

I think in the locker room, players realise that it's great for the game of golf that Tiger is doing what he is doing again because it creates more attention for the game. It gets more eyeballs, and we benefit from that, as well, right. If Tiger's doing well, the game of golf in general thrives.

So it's good for everyone involved, and I think we're happy for him. He's been through a lot in terms of injuries and some of the breaks that he's had to take. I think because he has opened up a little bit, you know, people know what he's been through and are happy that he's got through the other side of it and is playing great again.

Q. It must be extraordinary for you to have had him as a hero as a child, and he's up there now having the same effect on people now, isn't he?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think I'm in a fortunate position that I live quite close to him and we've been able to develop quite a good relationship, and I've seen in the private moments who he is in a person and what a great dad he is, and you know, how seriously he takes that side of his life, as well.

It's been great to see. You know, I think previously in his career, he didn't take the camaraderie or the being one of the guys as seriously as he does now as he transitions to this latter part of his career where he's captaining teams and he's being part of Presidents Cups, Ryder Cups, and almost like mentoring some of these guys through the fact that he's taken Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler and these guys under his wing a little bit and spends time with them in Florida.

He's definitely mellowed as a person, and probably sees the bigger picture a little more than he used to, and that's a great thing.

Q. When you were young, and you definitely thought about winning majors; and when you started making it, would that be much easier than for you to win these majors and for these couple of years, these past two years, a lot of rumours is directed to you about winning majors. What's your thought about taking on majors?
RORY McILROY: You know, we get four chances a year. We play on average 25 tournaments a year. I think if I continue to play the golf that I'm playing, you know, I'll have more chances to win majors. You know, it's about that given week, you know, how you play, a couple of things going your way, breaks here and there.

It's a very -- I don't feel like you can pinpoint certain weeks to play well. You try and play consistently well every week that you tee it up, and you know, some weeks it's going to fall your way, and some weeks it isn't.

I think if I keep continuing to play this good level, this good standard of golf that I'm playing, I'll have plenty of chances to win majors.

Q. Yesterday we saw you celebrating the development of junior golf in China. What other changes have you seen in the development of this tournament as it's sort of become what people call 'Asia's Major'?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think it's amazing, the fact that when this tournament first was played in 2005, I guess, 400 golfers in the Junior Programme in China, and today there's 100,000. How the game of golf has grown in this country over those years is huge.

You play around the world and you see things change gradually, but I don't think you can really -- I don't think I've ever been to a tournament or been to a place when the impact has been as big as this tournament. So that's -- you know, that's a wonderful legacy for this tournament to leave; the fact that they have gotten the best players in the world to come back each and every year and play.

I think as this tournament has went on, the course is I think probably in the best condition it's ever been in this year. Everything; new tournaments, they take a while I think to find their -- almost to find their way and to find what makes them special and what makes them stand out.

I think over the last, you know, 12 or 13 years, this tournament has definitely found a place in the global golf schedule, and people look forward to it and they know that it's the last WGC of the year and there's a lot of points at stake.

I think everything; the facilities, obviously the new hotel we are staying at this week is incredible. So all those little things add up to make it a wonderful event.

Q. What did you think of the rather interesting piece of advice that Xander gave to his junior yesterday? And I'll just remind you of what it was. He was saying that, you want to play against people that are older and better than you that will progress your game, and anyone you don't like. (Laughter) did you find somebody like that to play against?
RORY McILROY: I think for me, I was always the youngest to play, whether it be at my home golf club or in competitions. So I was always playing with people that were better than me, and I think that -- even my caddie now, Harry, he's basically five years older than me, and he was a very good player, and I always played with him. So Harry was always better than me growing up as a kid, but that made me a better player because I saw what level I needed to get to.

I don't think you necessarily, you know, you don't have to not like the person that you're playing with, but I think it's a wonderful piece of advice to find people that are better than you and to play with them, because it shows you what you need to do to get to that next level.

So I thought that was a great piece of advice that Xander gave for sure.

BRIONY CARLYON: Thanks for your time and all the best this week.

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