November 19, 2021
Dubai, UAE
Jumeirah Golf Estates
Quick Quotes
Q. Leading coming up the last and make 7; some of the commentators are surprised you went with driver off the tee because it's quite narrow, and you haven't driven it your best. Tell us your thinking.
RORY McILROY: I hit a good drive down there yesterday. It's a comfortable tee shot for me. It was playing slightly back into the wind. I hit that tee shot really well. I actually didn't expect it to go as far as it did and get up into the face of the bunker.
Yeah, even that was fine. I've never really hit anything else but driver off that hole. And then yeah, the third shot, I hit a really good shot. That part of the fairway where the ball was, was quite just sort of thatchy and came up spinny into the wind.
I hit a good golf shot and felt like I didn't deserve to be in the water. And it was a tricky up-and-down from there. Yeah, it wasn't the greatest way to finish and I was just sort of holding it together most of the day. I was a little scrappier than it was yesterday but felt like I was doing okay.
And yeah, it would have been nice to finish off a bit better but still right in the golf tournament.
Q. Your thoughts going into the weekend in this position? Playing with Collin Morikawa tomorrow, that will be nice.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, that will be good. Look, I'm playing nicely. There was a couple -- I started well again today and hit a lot of good shots on the front nine. It was sort of a little scrappy around the middle but was able to hang in there with my short game.
Hit a nice one on 16. So the good stuff is in there. It's just a matter of, yeah, I mean, I still feel like I played well and I feel like 70 is sort of the worst I could have shot today, especially with the finish and hopefully that's the bad one out of the way.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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