	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP

October 1, 2009

Rory McIlroy

ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND

Q. Your thoughts on a round of 4-under par?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it was very good. I didn't get off to the best start. Was 1-over after four, and then birdied 14 to go back to all-square -- I think I'm back to playing in the Seve Trophy. Back to level par. And after that it was really good. I played my last 12, 13 holes in 5-under par in Carnoustie.
It was a bit breezy. It wasn't a very strong breeze but still made it a bit tricky so happy with the score.

Q. How nice to have your dad alongside you while competing?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, he was great today. Hit a lot of good shots. We had a great laugh all the way around and that's the important thing.

Q. I'm sure when you were young, not that you're not still young, but when you were young he used to guide you around the course. Are you guiding him now or is it the other way around?
RORY McILROY: A little bit. He didn't take my advice on the 5th and I told him to probably play back and he hit his driver straight into the ditch. A bit like me in the early days; I didn't listen to him, either.
Yeah, I try and read a few putts for him here and there and give him the right clubs. But I think he knows how to do it himself.

Q. You've played here a couple of times and had some special moments; is this a championship that you look forward to?
RORY McILROY: Definitely. I don't know what it is about all three of the golf courses this week, I seem to do very well on them. I did well in The Open in 2007 as an amateur at Carnoustie. I remember shooting 69 here last year in a pretty tough day and to shoot 68 today, that's pretty good. So sets me up for a nice week.

Q. How was the 68 on the toughest course?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's a solid start and it gives me something to build on. I don't know if it could be building on it tomorrow with the way the weather forecast is, but at least I'm in the red figures and I'm up there in the tournament.

Q. When you say your dad helped you, does this mean he came in?
RORY McILROY: No, he didn't help me, he came in on a couple of holes. The only hole that he got a shot on me, he made eagle so that helped.

Q. Early on in your pro career, you were close to winning.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's got a different feel, this tournament. You know, it's very relaxed. You see everyone out around in town around St. Andrews, and it's just a great week. You play three awesome golf courses, usually with good company, so it's really a great tournament, and I think everyone enjoys it because of that.

Q. How much is your eye on the bigger picture in terms of the Race to Dubai with Kaymer and Casey not here this week and the start you've made? That's good news.
RORY McILROY: It is good news, yeah. I knew that this was one of the weeks where I could make up a lot of ground with the prize money on offer. You know, it's a great start to the week and as I said, hopefully I can build on it and carry it forward for the next three days. It's a good start, but I've still got two different golf courses to play and three rounds of golf to play. So there's a long way to go. But I feel pretty good about my game.

Q. To finish with a win would be incredible --
RORY McILROY: You mean The Race to Dubai? To top The Race to Dubai, Order of Merit, Money List, whatever you want to call it, to be able to win that, would be a huge achievement. It shows you that you've played consistently well the whole way through the year without having too many bad weeks which I haven't this year.
I know it's been a very consistent year. It's been a very good year in the majors for me as well. And hopefully if I do happen to win The Race to Dubai, it will be a great year to build ongoing into the majors next year.

Q. Come down the last on Sunday with your dad?
RORY McILROY: If he makes the cut, yeah; if I make the cut. It would be -- especially at St. Andrews, it would be awesome, but that's thinking ahead. I still need to play a lot of golf.
As I said, I'm very comfortable with my game at the minute, and hopefully the weather isn't too bad for us at St. Andrews tomorrow. If it isn't, hopefully I can take advantage of the course there and shoot another good one and set myself up for a good weekend.

Q. Any good birdies?
RORY McILROY: I hit a wedge shot on the third from 110 yards to a foot. I had a really nice pitch shot on 6, the par 5, from 50 yards to about two feet. Very nice. And then the putt on 8 from about 25 feet which was nice.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297