THE 152ND OPEN

July 19, 2024

Rory McIlroy

Mixed Zone

Q. First of all, sum up your frustration over the last couple of days and what you think has gone wrong.

RORY McILROY: Yeah. Obviously got off to the worst start possible today, being 6-over through six. But then played the last 12 holes pretty well, bogey-free. If I need to remember something about this week, it'll be the last few holes that I played.

You know, I was saying to Sara over there at SKY, when I look back on the two majors that I didn't play my best at, here and the Masters, the wind got the better of me on Friday at Augusta, and then the wind got the better of me the last two days here.

I didn't adapt well at all to that left-to-right wind yesterday on the back nine, and then this afternoon going out in that gusty wind on the front, as I said, it got the better of me, and I felt pretty uncomfortable over a few shots.

Yeah, that four-hole stretch to start off is what cost me.

Q. When you're playing like that, does it leave you concerned, or is it just one of those things?

RORY McILROY: No, I think when the wind died down a little bit -- it was still strong enough out there, but when it became at least manageable for me, I started to play better. I played the last 12 in a couple under par and actually felt a little more comfortable over my shots.

But yeah, when the wind gets that strong and you haven't played in wind like that for quite a while, sometimes it's just hard to adapt.

Q. There's a lot of players out there really toiling, some of the best names in golf like yourself. Was there a point where you became quite philosophical about what was happening and looked at it in the bigger picture?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think once I made the 8 on the 4th hole, that was it. 22 holes into the event and I'm thinking about where I'm going to go on vacation next week.

Yeah, that was basically it. I mean, I knew from then I'd sort of resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to shoot, whatever it is, 4- or 5-under from there on in to make the cut.

Yeah, it was a pretty meaningful 14 holes after that, but at least I played okay and at least feel like, as I said, when the wind dropped, my game felt a little more comfortable for me, and I hit some good shots.

Q. There's no more majors left but obviously the Olympics is coming up and it's a big thing. Is that something to reset for?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think so. Yeah. There's still a -- I feel like I say this every Open Championship, but it's not as if we only play four events a year. We play like 25, so there's still a few things there's left to play for. Obviously the majors have come and gone, but to sort of refocus and try to reset for the Olympics, which will be another cool experience, and try to play well there, and then again, I'm in contention to try to win both titles on either side of the Atlantic, so still some things to play for until the end of the year.

Q. What do you think would make Shane suited to bring home his second Claret Jug?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, I can't wait to watch this weekend. He's so creative. I think even just watching the coverage the last couple of days, that little sort of squeezy cut that he can hit, especially going out in that front nine, is going to be really helpful to him. Yeah, look, he relishes these conditions. He loves playing these conditions. The Open Championship is his favourite tournament in the world. He gets more up for this than anything else.

I'm looking forward to cheering him on and hopefully him getting his second jug.