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IRISH OPENMay 18, 2008Rory McIlroyADARE, IRELAND Q. I was thinking you'd be quite proud of the fact you bounced back after a 7 at the 7th hole to a round of 70, but you looked pretty disappointed. RORY McILROY: Yeah, I discussed that with my caddie, shoot 4-under the back nine, post 7-under and I figured we'd have a pretty good shot. But I'm a little disappointed with the drive on 18. I didn't get it in the fairway to give myself a chance to put it onto the green in two. But it's a great week for me. It's a week I probably needed. I haven't really kicked on from my great start last year on Tour. But this week will give me a lot of confidence going into the next few weeks. Q. First Irish Open as a pro, to finish in the Top 5, as it looks like you will, you've got to really be looking at the positives of that. RORY McILROY: Yeah. I came into this week, I knew I was playing pretty nicely, and I just played really solid. I think it's a golf course that suits me. I think I play better on difficult golf courses where the scoring isn't too low, and I just played really nicely. Probably looking back on it tomorrow night, I'll be very happy with the way I finished. Q. How does it feel at just 19 years of age to receive of sort of support and adulation you get and everyone calling out your name? RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's fantastic. The crowds and the galleries out here are just absolutely fantastic, the atmosphere. It's great that so many Irish players are playing so well, and I think it will be great for the sport in this country, and long may it continue. Q. It's been a wonderful week for you, hasn't it? RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's been very good, my first Irish Open as a pro, and to come here with all the expectation on my shoulders, it was absolutely fantastic. The support I got out there was great, and I was very pleased with the way I bounced back after my pretty poor start today. I'll probably finish Top 5, Top 10, whatever, but it was a great week for me. Q. You sound a little bit disappointed when you say that, Top 5. RORY McILROY: Yeah, looking back on the week, I probably could have done a bit better; there was a few putts here and there. But hopefully those putts can drop next week or the week after and I'll keep playing well and hopefully get myself into these positions more often and hopefully finish one of them off sooner or later. Q. You mentioned expectation. Was that a heavy burden this week? RORY McILROY: No, no, not at all. I've got high expectations of myself, so I just try and play my own game and keep myself to myself and see what happens. And I played well this week. As I said, I feel as if I'm playing well going into the next few weeks, which are very important, and it's given me a huge confidence boost. Q. Just how important are those next couple of weeks coming up? RORY McILROY: Massive, for Order of Merit, Ryder Cup, everything. There's a few really big events coming up, and I feel as if I'm playing well going into them, so that will give me a good bit of confidence, so yeah, I'm pretty pleased. Q. Just in terms of those targets, you mentioned Ryder Cup and Order of Merit, what targets have you got? RORY McILROY: I mean, after this week I'll probably be in the Top 25 in the Ryder Cup standings, so it's maybe in the back of my mind, but we'll see. But yeah, I just want to try and get in. I've said at the start of the year if I could finish in the Top 60 in the Order of Merit and get into the Top 100 in the world would be a great first year, and hopefully I'm on my way to doing that. Q. Just very finally, the event as a whole, it's been a good week, hasn't it? RORY McILROY: Fantastic. To keep dry, almost, for four or five days has been absolutely fantastic. It's a great venue, great golf course, and the crowds turned out in the thousands today, so it was a great event. Q. A lot of positives? RORY McILROY: Yeah, a lot of positives. I played really well. Just looking back over the week, I probably didn't hole my fair share, and I gave myself a lot of chances going into that back nine today. I gave myself -- birdied 14, gave myself a good chance on 15, just pushed the putt, and 16 and 17 hit good chips, and I thought the one on 16 was in. I was a bit disappointed with my drive on the last. It was the first time I had missed that fairway on 18, and I thought maybe I could get myself on the fairway and hit one onto the green again and give myself an eagle chance. But a birdie will have to do (laughter). Q. How did you get it? RORY McILROY: The birdie on 18? Q. Yeah. RORY McILROY: Hit a drive just into the rough on the right, just chopped a sand wedge out, had 134 yards to the pin, just hit a little wedge. I think I got pretty lucky, it bounced at the pin and then spun back a little bit back onto the green and holed a nice putt down the hill. Q. Am I right in saying that you hit 5-, 6- and 5-irons the previous three days to that 18th hole? RORY McILROY: A 4-iron yesterday, a 6-iron on Friday and a 5-iron on Thursday. End of FastScripts |
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