DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

November 14, 2024

Rory McIlroy

Jumeirah Golf Estates, Earth Course

Quick Quotes

Q. Excellent round of 67. Give us your assessment of your play today.

RORY McILROY: Yeah, I thought I did well. I hit the ball pretty well. I gave myself plenty of chances, plenty of looks. When I did put myself out of position, I was smart and either just trying to get it back in position or leave myself with a bit of room to work with if I was missing the greens.

Overall really solid round of golf. The course is playing a little bit more difficult than in previous years because of how thick the rough is. We are going to have to just keep an eye on that and get the ball in play as much as possible over these next three days.

Q. You spoke last week about how the tweaks you're make to go your golf swing, it's a work-in-progress, but when it's complete, what is the benefit going to be to you?

RORY McILROY: I think just a little bit more consistency. My start lines will come in a little bit, so even my misses will become a little bit better. I had a criticism of my game over the past 18 months is that the misses had become a little too wide, and they were getting me into trouble.

Again, we are not going to hit perfect golf shots all the time but if you can minimize the misses and make sure that they are not destructive, that's always a good thing.

Q. You're out there with your closest rival in The Race to Dubai today and obviously people will look at the six-shot advantage you gained and think the race is over. I can tell you he finished second at The European Open having opened with a round of 77 so he's very capable of coming back and you're too experienced to think that, aren't you. You're just going to say, keep the pedal down?

RORY McILROY: Absolutely. I want to go on from here and win the golf tournament. I've opened up with a really good score but I need to go out and play similarly over these next three days, not just to try to win the tournament but also to try to get the job done in The Race to Dubai.

Yeah, I'm under no illusions that that was probably Thriston's worst day. If he goes out and has three good one, I still need to go out there and play some very solid golf.