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QUAIL HOLLOW CHAMPIONSHIPMay 1, 2010Rory McIlroyCHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA Q. 6-under 66 today. You were 7-under going into 18. Talk about the round. RORY McILROY: Yeah, it was a great round of golf. You know, I played really, really well. I feel as though I've been hitting it well for the last couple weeks, I'm just not really getting much out of my game. But today I knocked a few putts in and gave myself plenty of chances. A bit disappointing bogeying the last, but 66 is still a great score out there, and it puts me in a nice position going into tomorrow. Q. Talk about your positioning, because 7-under led going into yesterday, and there wasn't a lot -- there were people moving up to 7-under. RORY McILROY: Yeah, if I really were to pick a target I would say 10 or 11 will lead at the end of the day. If I'm within five when I get off, I've got a pretty good chance. I'm happy to be where I'm at because the last couple months has been a bit of a struggle for me. It's just nice to get going and get myself into some sort of contention going into Sunday. Q. A lot of people on this side of the pond have been waiting for this kind of round from you. What's been the story and what happened today? RORY McILROY: I've just put a lot of work in. I struggled -- I had a little bit of a back injury, which it's still there, but it's getting a lot better. It'll probably take another two or three months to clear fully. But I feel as if I can swing with a lot more freedom and I can actually practice more, hit more balls and spend more time on the range, which has definitely helped. I put my old trusty putter back in the bag last night, which seemed to help. My putting was pretty good out there today. Hopefully I can do the same tomorrow. Q. Talk about the course conditions. Might we see some good red numbers today? RORY McILROY: Yeah, there's definitely some pin placements that are accessible, but there's some pin placements that are on the edge to say the least. There's a few positions out there, you get yourself on the wrong side and bogey is a good score. It's presenting its chances. The 8th and the 14th tee boxes are up a little bit and I hit it on both those greens, so two-putt birdies, but there's also holes that you've got to know where to hit it and take a par and get out of there. I'd say the scoring should be -- if the weather stays like this, the scoring should be pretty good this afternoon. As I say, if I can stay within five or six I'll be pretty happy. Q. There's a bit of expectation for you. Does that pressure weigh on you, as well, out there? RORY McILROY: A little bit certainly. You know, this year I got off to pretty much a perfect start for me. I spent the week in Dubai, practiced really well, finished third in Abu Dhabi behind Martin Kaymer and Ian Poulter and finished sixth in Dubai. So my game was there, and then the back injury sort of flared up the last cup of rounds in Dubai. Since then it has been a little bit of a struggle. I'd get on the range and I'd hit balls and I'd maybe only hit 100 balls because I wasn't feeling very good, so I'd have to stop my session short there, and it's sort of been like that for the last couple months. Ever since the Match Play this year the whole season has been a bit stop-start, so I'm trying to get a bit of continuity. I've added a couple events to my schedule just to try and play a little bit more and just get a little bit of fluidity back into the season. Q. Yesterday were you aware of how close you were to missing the cut? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I bogeyed the 6th to go to 3-over par, and I knew I needed to birdie two of the last three holes to make the cut, and then I luckily eagled 7 and had a good chance on 8 but didn't take it. That 3 on 7 could have been the turning point in the season. So yeah, I mean, I was very happy to make the cut, and I'm happy with my round today. I made three bogeys, so it could have been a little better, but I'm very pleased. Q. How did you hurt the back, and how bad is the pain right now? RORY McILROY: Great. When you shoot 66 there's nothing there. I hut it -- I put a really hard week of practice in Dubai before Abu Dhabi. As far as the year, I was spending seven, eight hours on the range at the golf course hitting a lot of balls, and with that playing a bit of tennis, playing a bit of soccer, and I think it just all led up to -- it was fine up to a point, and then maybe those few weeks where I was probably doing a little too much, that sort of tipped it over the edge. Q. (Inaudible.) RORY McILROY: I like this sort of golf course, tree-lined, a lot of definition off the tee. You can really see your shots, your shot shapes. It's a little bit like Firestone in that way and a bit like Augusta, as well. When I drove in here Monday, I thought it was very Augusta-like in places, which I love. Yeah, you've got to hit all the shots around here. Q. You had missed the cut in the last two events before this and you were teetering. Is this round a sign that you were just relieved and that you could play? RORY McILROY: I think so, yeah. I think this is a sign that I was relieved and I could play with a bit more freedom when I was just going into the weekend and trying to shoot the best score I could. I was really happy to make the cut after making eagle on 7 last night and made the most of that today. End of FastScripts |
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