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THE QUINN DIRECT BRITISH MASTERS

September 20, 2007

Rory McIlroy

WISHAW, ENGLAND

RODDY WILLIAMS: Terrific start to your professional career. A bogey free round of three under par. You must be pretty pleased with that I would imagine.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, sort of just opened up with a couple of pars. Chipped in on the 11th which was nice and then chipped in on 12 for birdie. Settled the nerves a bit.
A 69 is a good score today. There's a lot of crosswinds, so it's quite tough to hold fairways. You're always hitting the ball across them, so it was quite difficult but I gave myself a lot of chances out there. I could have been a bit better if I had holed a few putts, but 69, I'll take it going into tomorrow.
RODDY WILLIAMS: How are you feeling in your first round as a pro?
RORY McILROY: It was okay. I wasn't really as nervous as I was at The Open. I just went out and played. I just said, go out and play the same way I did last week at the Oxfordshire. I just went out, strolled around and hit a few good shots, holed a few putts and that's all I did today. Just strolled round, gave myself a lot of chances and figure if I can keep doing that for the rest of the week, I'll be very happy.

Q. When did you tee off, how was it to be up that early?
RORY McILROY: 7:50 off the 10th.

Q. What time did you get out of bed?
I set my alarm for 5.30 but didn't get out of bed until about 5.45. Watched the football last night so I was in bed about ten.

Q. Range still in floodlights?
RORY McILROY: Yeah.

Q. Slept well?
RORY McILROY: It was all right. Slept too well. Couldn't really get up this morning -- no, it's okay. It was fine.

Q. Were you thinking about the day as you lay in bed for those 15 minutes?
RORY McILROY: Pretty much. I suppose it was. I was sort of thinking about what I was going to do for breakfast, if I was going to go to the players lounge or go to the hotel. I didn't have as many nerves as I had at the first shot at The Open or the first shot at the Walker Cup either.
I'm just really pleased with the way I started. I figured if I shot in the 60s, it would be a good score because it is very tricky out there with the wind. So, very pleased.

Q. One putt on the first three holes and could have gone a bit pear-shaped on the 11th?
RORY McILROY: I hit a good chip down the middle which was nice, semi sort of chip on 12, just missed it on the left and nice lie. Just led it feed down the hill and went straight in as well. The one on 12 was a bit shorter. The one on 11 was about 40 feet.

Q. What did you end up doing for breakfast?
RORY McILROY: I went to the players lounge and I just had a quick bite to eat, had a bowl of cereal and a banana and I went out. Yeah, just did that and had a banana before I got to the 10th tee as well.
I don't really eat that much when I practise, anyway.

Q. Did Paul Lawrie talk to you much?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I met him yesterday on the range actually. It was nice. He came up and wished me good luck on my career, so that was nice.
Yeah, we chatted on the way around and sort of talked about a few things, football and stuff like that. He's a Man-United fan and so am I, so we had a bit to talk about from that side.

Q. Søren Kjeldsen playing well (shooting 6-under), does it help when someone else in your group is playing well?
RORY McILROY: I think it does yeah. I think we both got off to pretty solid starts. By the ninth, I think he was 4-under and then I was just sort of trying to keep up with him. He played very well. He hit a lot of good iron shots and I think I fed off that. We were both hitting pretty good iron shots.
Yeah, I think it helped in a way because I was sort of thinking midway around after 14, 2-under is just sort of decent. But then, you know, he's at 6-under and finishing at 3-under is a very respectable score around here.

Q. Had you met Søren Kjeldsen before?
RORY McILROY: No, I didn't. I just met him on the first tee today.

Q. You mentioned how important it was hitting every shot and how ever shot now counts?
RORY McILROY: Yeah. More so than last week, last week was about getting the job done and finishing in the top 30.
This week, I want to go out and try and play well and hopefully if I can play the way I did today in the next three rounds, there's no reason why I wouldn't think I can be up there going into Sunday. So I just have to see how it goes, you know.

Q. Did you treat today as a stroll?
RORY McILROY: Last couple of weeks I have. I don't know, I think it's just because I've got a lot of confidence in the way I'm hitting it, so I'm going to give myself a lot of chances.
Gordie on the bag really helps as well. I've found this year I've had a lot more rounds that I haven't had bogey or I've had bogey-free round. I think I only had about five up to this year. So just stuff like that really helps, especially because Gordie says to me on the way around, you think 2-under isn't that good, but the end of the day you will be up there. So I think he's been great for me this year.

Q. Have you looked at how much money you need to avoid the school?
RORY McILROY: Well, I just sort of -- 220,000 or something like that would be pretty comfortable. Third will nearly do it but I'll take second.

Q. What's your schedule now?
RORY McILROY: I've got Alfred Dunhill Links, Madrid -- yeah, I think I've got Madrid, Portugal and Mallorca. Hopefully if I have a good week this week, I can keep playing the way I have been, I can hope give get that 220,000 Euros.

Q. Have you talked to any other players who have struggled this year about their experience trying to get their card?
RORY McILROY: Not really. I sort of -- I followed Oliver Fisher and what he did last year and what he's done this year. He's comfortably kept his card and had a great rookie year. I think starting out, gone about it a bit differently. He's gone through Tour School and obviously if this doesn't work out, I'll go through Tour School as well. Obviously me and Oli are great friends and we were always sort of rivals, as well. If he can get out there in his first year, so can I.
But I haven't really talked to anyone that's particularly struggled. I speak to Oli a bit and see what he's learned this year and try and learn a bit from him.

Q. What did he say to you?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, he just said these guys aren't that much better than we are. They just know how to get it around the golf course and they know how to try to put some good numbers on the scorecard and that's about it. I think if he can do that, I think you can keep the mistakes off your card, you're going to be doing well.

Q. Are you aware of the fact this is a very special moment, you turning professional?
RORY McILROY: Not really. I'm just going along for the ride just playing golf and answering a few questions, that's about it. So, yeah, I'm just going out and playing golf trying to get a little white ball into the hole. If I can do that in the least shots as possible, I'll be very happy.

Q. Now you are a professional are you more aware of things, what you will wear?
RORY McILROY: Not really, no. I think I can just go out and worry about playing golf. As I said before at the start of the week, I've got a great team around me that can take care of everything else. So if I go out and play some good golf, then everything will take care of itself, and that's what I was really looking for when I turned pro. I've got that in place now, so all I have to worry about is, as I said, playing good golf.

Q. Is pink a lucky colour?
RORY McILROY: Not really. I just thought it went well with the trousers.

Q. Did you expect to be more nervous this morning?
RORY McILROY: I didn't really think about it to be honest. I probably -- you always get butterflies on the first tee but I definitely wasn't as nervous as I was at The Open or the Walker Cup.
It doesn't feel any different at the minute. Professional, amateur, it's still the same game. I didn't really think about it too much so, that's probably -- definitely I didn't dwell on anything. So, yeah, that probably helped a bit.

Q. Were you parents nervous?
RORY McILROY: Mum probably was. Dad's all right. He doesn't care -- well, he cares, but it doesn't matter to him if I shoot 69 or 79. He's just happy that I'm playing golf. I think he's happy that I've got all the right people around me, as well.
So after this week, Mum and Dad aren't going to come that many tournaments, maybe if I'm in contention at the weekend. I think he's happy with the situation I'm in, and he trusts the people that are around me to take care of me and sort of help me along this new path suppose.
I think Mum was probably a bit nervous, but dad was okay.
RODDY WILLIAMS: Can we go through the details of your three birdies?
RORY McILROY: Chipped in on 12.
RODDY WILLIAMS: How far was that?
RORY McILROY: That was from about 30 feet, just back left. 11 was about 40 feet. Hit into the sort of bunker -- it's like a links bunker. I walked up there and I didn't know we were playing Lytham. I had actually played it backwards and I had a 9-iron over the green and chipped in and that was nice.
17, the par 5, I had a drive just into the the left semi. I had 250 or 275 pin, 250 front and just hit it front right, just short right of the green. I had a nice little chip shot up there to about four feet and held that.
6, I hit 3-wood off the tee and that left me about 163 yard to the pin and hit a 7-iron pin-high, 25, 30 feet.
Then hit a terrible putt but somehow it went -- well, I hit it pretty hard. I had a good lie, but it was probably going into the bunker if it didn't hit the hole. Probably deserved it in a way because I gave myself so many opportunities in the holes before. I missed a 6-footer and a 5-footer and 10-footer and stuff so, it probably made up for those misses.
10, I had 6-iron and a wedge just to the front right of the green.

Q. How far to the green?
RORY McILROY: 120. It was just off on the fringe and I just chipped it.

Q. Who came to watch you tee off?
RORY McILROY: Chubby got up to watch me on the first tee, and Dan Harrison, as well, from ISM and then Mum and Dad and marshals and that was about it. I don't think there was many -- there wasn't that many until after Søren and I were doing pretty well.
RODDY WILLIAMS: Rory, thanks very much indeed. Well played.

End of FastScripts

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