GENESIS SCOTTISH OPEN

July 10, 2024

Rory McIlroy

The Renaissance Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Listening to the press conference, sounds like the U.S. Open, you've made peace with that talking about Pinehurst, sounds very much like you've made peace with that. What have the last two weeks been like for you?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, I got over it pretty quickly. The few days after it were pretty tough at times but I feel like I've done a good job of thinking about it rationally and constructively, and staking what I need from it and trying to learn from it. But like for the most part it was a great day. I keep saying to people, it was a great day until it wasn't. There's a couple things I would like to have back but overall I can't fault how I played or the game plan that I had or how I sort of handled myself the whole way throughout the tournament.

So you know, just nice to get back on the golf course and play this week and two good opportunities to get myself back where I need to be and obviously at Troon next week as well.

Q. There's always a lot of support for you and there was a lot on social media afterwards, most notably a nice message from Shane Lowry who you are very close to. How much did words like that help the last couple weeks?

RORY McILROY: A lot of people reached out, which was really nice, from inside of golf and outside of golf and other sports. Just having the support of my friends and my family, yeah, I feel like I've really surrounded myself with good people. Sometimes you take that for granted and feel like you don't need that all the time but in tough moments like Sunday at Pinehurst, it makes you appreciate that.

Q. You weren't asked inside about the football match tonight. Will you be watching? Do you think England can get to the final?

RORY McILROY: I will be watching. I think they can, yeah. I definitely think they can get to the final. I think like everyone else, I would like them to play more assertively and have a go. But yeah, I mean, I thought that obviously the penalties against Switzerland were unbelievable.

Yeah, look, they certainly have the players and the squad to go all the way, but yeah, it will be an interesting game tonight.

Q. You've had a couple of weeks to process what happened at the U.S. Open. Was there one maybe missed opportunity on Sunday that you look back on?

RORY McILROY: I think the one thing that I'll -- the short putt on 16 is one that I'll probably rue most because it was a pretty simple putt. The putt on 18 was pretty difficult.

You know, there's not a lot that I would change about what I did on Sunday for the first 14 holes. That's the best I've played in that position in a long, long time.

Yeah, look, obviously there's moments where you know, my mind sort of wanders back to those final four holes, and you wish that things would have been different. But as long as I learned from them and move on, you know, it's good to get back on the course this week at The Scottish Open, and then obviously have another opportunity next week at Troon.

Q. How much did it hurt?

RORY McILROY: I think as you achieve more in the game, you can soften the blow, if you look at everything I've been able to accomplish. It's been a while since I've won a major but it hurt but I felt worse after some other losses. I felt worse after Augusta in '11 and I felt worse after St Andrews. It was up there with the tough losses but not the toughest.

Q. Why does it mean so much to you to win a National Championship?

RORY McILROY: I just think they are the oldest and most historic titles in our game. They have been around for a long, long time and I've always loved the history of the game. So I love looking at the names that have won the tournament before. To win trophies that Sam Snead is on or Jack Nicklaus or Gary Player or over in these parts, I think Faldo or Sandy Lyle or Seve, you know, that's a really cool thing to me. It sort of connects you with the people who came before you.

You know, it seems like more and more that the National Opens were really the only tournaments that can do that nowadays.