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THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPJuly 15, 2010Rory McIlroyST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND LYNN WALLACE: Ladies and gentlemen, we're joined by Rory McIlroy, who scored a 9-under 63 to lead the Open. Rory, your opening score has tied the low round in a major. Congratulations. You must be delighted. RORY McILROY: Thank you, yeah. It sort of went through my mind on 17 that 62 would have been the lowest round in a major. That's probably why I missed the putt. Yeah, it was a fantastic score. I didn't get off to a flying start. I was 1-under through eight holes, and then the eagle on 9 really sort of turned things around for me, and I just got going from there. You know, it was great to get into the rhythm of the round and get into a flow. And yeah, it was a very pleasant round of golf. Q. When you're in that zone, can you sort of describe what it feels like? RORY McILROY: Not really. I mean, all you're thinking about is just trying to go 6-under, 7-under. I mean, you're just trying to go lower and lower, no sort of negative thoughts come into your head at all. That's the only way I can describe it, just trying to make birdies, I suppose, and nothing else really comes into your mind. Q. What is it about this place that suits your game so well? As you say, 63 is a great score but 62 was actually on. Will you come off feeling just a little bit let down? RORY McILROY: No, I don't think I can come off feeling let down. I'm leading the Open Championship. But yeah, definitely the one on 17 was one I let get away. But yeah, this course, I just love the place. I love St. Andrews in general, and I'm coming in here with a lot of great memories. I've played well round here before. This is my best-ever round, round here. But yeah, I just think it fits my eye really well. You know, the second shots, as long as you put your ball in the fairway here, the second shots seem to set up well for me. I like the fact that even if you hit -- you can hit driver off the tee, and with your second shots, even if the pin is in the middle of the green or over a slope or something, you've got to be so inventive or so imaginative, you have to cut them up in the air or run them up, and you can play so many different shots at this golf course and you need a lot of imagination. It's just a very fun golf course to play. If I had one course to play, this would probably be the course, because it's just an enjoyable golf course. Q. You mentioned the eagle at 9 getting you going. Are you a streak player? Do you look for something like that and then capitalize on it? RORY McILROY: I think so, yeah. It was a pretty -- you know, the round was going okay, 1-under through eight holes, nothing special, and then the eagle on 9 really got me going. I had missed a few chances early on, and I was going up the 7th hole at 1-under par and saying to myself, if we can turn in 33 here, 3-under par, it would be a good front nine and get going from there. I was able to do that. As I said, it just kicked on from there. Yeah, I think it does take something in your round, a little spark, a little something to get you going, and I think that was the point today where my round really got going. Q. Can you describe the eagle, please. RORY McILROY: Yeah, I hit a driver off the tee to 15 feet and just holed a putt straight up the hill. I mean, I was actually trying to go left of the two bunkers in the middle of the fairway but pushed it a little bit, and hit it well enough that I was able to carry the bunkers and just run up onto the green. Q. Did you have the sense going out that you needed to post a good score, get under par, because the conditions were pretty benign today? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I definitely thought that we needed to take advantage of the conditions and of the golf course. Obviously there's been a lot of rain over the past couple of days, and you know, going out there this morning with no wind, you're never going to get St. Andrews playing any easier. So I think that's why there's a lot of guys that are going low at the minute. You know, I'm very happy that I was able to take advantage of those conditions, and it gives me a little bit of a buffer going into the next three days, whatever weather comes our way. Q. You talked about having fun out there, what was the most enjoyable shot that you hit during the round? RORY McILROY: Probably the 6-iron to 17. Yeah, I had a very similar shot in 2007, same club. Pin was sort of tucked more around the bunker, but I hit a 6-iron there to three feet and made that putt that day, and I birdied the last to get my European Tour card. That shot sort of set up well for me. It was nice, it was on a little upslope. I could get a little bit of height on it and get it to stop pretty quickly. Q. What was the first time you played the Old Course, and what do you recall about it? And how does today compare with your final round at Quail Hollow? RORY McILROY: First time I played it was in June 2007, St. Andrews Links Trophy. The first couple of times I played it, I wasn't -- it's a golf course that really grows on you because you get to know the little subtleties of it and the little bumps and slopes and different ways you can play it. And yeah, I mean, I think after that, after I played well in 2007 and got my Tour card here, and ever since that I've really fell in love with the place. What was your second question? Q. How does today's round compare to your final round at Quail Hollow? RORY McILROY: Yeah, two completely different circumstances. You know, I was going out at Quail Hollow four or five shots off the lead, and I was just going out there to try and shoot a good number. I got tied for the lead after nine holes that day, and I think the back nine was the nine at Quail Hollow that was very special for me. The front nine sort of got me into position, but the back nine was where I sort of put the tournament to bed, I suppose. But I think Quail Hollow, I don't know, it's hard to compare because they're two completely different circumstances, but this is definitely up there as one of the best rounds I've played. Q. How does this compare to the 61, as well? Is this the most special round of your career? RORY McILROY: I think it probably is the most special just because it's at St. Andrews and it's the Open Championship. I think the 61 was probably slightly better, if I'm honest. I don't know if it was because I was 16 or because -- to shoot 61 around Portrush, especially the reputation that Portrush has back home, to go and shoot a score like that on it was pretty nice. But this is definitely up there. It's nice to put my name on the few guys that have shot 63 in majors. It would have been lovely to shoot 62, but I can't really complain. Q. Graeme McDowell said last week that you played golf together at Royal County Down and he said he's never seen you so up for a golf tournament. Is that the truth? And why are you kind of so up for this? RORY McILROY: I don't know, I think I was just trying to get level of him (laughing). Yeah, I mean, you know, I suppose St. Andrews, I've played -- I've said this so many times today, but I've played so well around here before, and I really felt that if I could come into this golf tournament in good form and playing well, I feel as if I've got a great chance. Q. (No microphone.) RORY McILROY: I don't think so. I mean, yeah, I said it afterwards, I said I wouldn't like to be the only Irishman at the Ryder Cup without a major. No, I mean, that definitely -- Graeme's win definitely gave me a lot of belief and a lot of confidence knowing if he can go out and win a major the way he did, there's no reason why I can't go out and have good chances to win some of the others. I always felt that majors were like getting to the next level, and I always thought -- I've always said this, I always thought a major was a little farther away than it probably is. You know, I always thought maybe another two or three or four years of development in my game, I'd be ready to challenge for majors. But seeing Graeme win at Pebble Beach made me realise that it might not be as far away as I thought it was. Q. The one similarity with Quail Hollow was your relaxation. Was that how it felt for you? Do you feel relaxed when you're putting that kind of round together? Or is there ever a moment when you're conscious of how high the stakes are? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I mean, I think you realise when you're having a good, great round of golf. You almost try to relax yourself a little bit, try and play mind games with yourself, saying it's only the first day, it's only whatever. But yeah, I mean, whenever I'm playing well or I've got a good score going, I always -- I mean, a lot of people have told me that I play a little bit fast, so on the greens I'll always go and take my time and go around the other side of the hole just to give myself an extra couple of seconds just to gather my thoughts a little bit. Yeah, there's a few things you do when you're going low that you might not do necessarily when you're maybe just level or 1- or 2-under par. Q. I was curious, how do you pronounce the name of your hometown? RORY McILROY: Holywood. Q. It is Holywood? RORY McILROY: Yeah, even though it's spelled Holywood. Q. I'm from the other Hollywood in California. I'm curious if this would truly be a Hollywood script if you could pull this off, considering where it's at. RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's only the first day, and there's 54 holes left to play. I can't really be thinking about that, to be honest. I've got to be thinking about my 1:30 tee time tomorrow and going out there and trying to play as good as I played today. That's all I can really do, take it one shot at a time. I'm not sure what the weather is going to be like tomorrow, but if I could go out and just have the same mindset tomorrow as I did today, then that's all I can ask of myself. But if it was to happen, it would be great, and there would be no better place to do it. Q. You said earlier you thought about the 62 before you hit that putt at 17. RORY McILROY: Yeah. Q. Did it intrude much in your thought? It was quite a difficult putt, too, if you could go through it. RORY McILROY: Yeah, it looked as if it had to go a little bit right to left. I was looking at it, and I looked at it from the other side, and you had to think it would go right to left. I just said I'm going to hit it firm and I'm going to hit it straight. I hit it and I pushed it a little bit. Q. Can I just follow up? If this is a bit out of left field don't worry: Can you just list your round scores here because there was eight prior to today, six as an amateur, two as a pro? RORY McILROY: Yeah, 69, 69, 67, 68, 67, 68, 65, 69, 63. Q. Just following up, how annoyed were you that you had thought 62 and then missed the putt? RORY McILROY: I wasn't that annoyed because, yeah, it's not as if I said it. I was just thinking about it going. It's amazing, the only thing that came into my head, I remembered watching Tiger at the U.S. PGA in Tulsa, and he lipped out for 62. I started thinking to myself, if I can birdie this hole, I've got a chance of birdieing the last. Q. And when you missed did you think, I can still make 2? RORY McILROY: Not really, no. I was happy to make birdie at the last because it's sort of -- that pin position is really tricky today on the last, so it was a good 3 anyway. It sort of made up for 17 a little bit. Q. You didn't try for the -- RORY McILROY: I was going straight at the clock on the R & A clubhouse. Q. Hopefully not to belabor the point, but going back to that 61 you shot at Royal Portrush, how did that round feel compared to how today felt? RORY McILROY: I was probably a little more hyped and buzzed about the 61, just because I was 16. It was the first time I had really went low and was the first time that -- I can't believe I'm going to shoot such a great score at Portrush. That was sort of my mindset. Where today it was, first round of a golf tournament, just go out, play, hit a few nice shots, holed a few nice putts. Q. But inside the round as you were playing? RORY McILROY: Yeah, it felt -- I think I felt a lot more relaxed today than I did the day when I shot 61. I was a lot more in control of my emotions, just because I've played -- that was five years ago now. So I think the 61 was -- might have been today five years ago, actually. Q. When you come here, do you come with any preference weather-wise? And how do you feel about the next three days? If you could ordain the weather from here to Sunday, what would you give us? RORY McILROY: The exact same as what I played in this morning. I've actually never played St. Andrews when the weather has been that bad. That's probably why my scores have been quite good. I mean, I wouldn't mind the wind to blow a little bit, just so long as it stays dry, because I think this tournament -- it's very special this year being at St. Andrews, 150 years and everything, I think it deserves a bit of good weather. I don't mind a bit of wind, but as long as it stays nice and dry. Q. On a similar tack, the weather was so bad yesterday with the mist as well as the rain, how did that affect your mental preparations? Did you dream differently before this round? And when you got here, did you think it's a bit like being 2-under already? RORY McILROY: Um, I'm not sure. Going into this morning I was just very happy with my preparation because I went out at half past 6:00 yesterday morning and got 18 in, and I was probably only one of the guys to play 18 holes yesterday, so I was really happy with that. Yeah, I mean, I was in the Old Course Hotel at 9:30 having breakfast after playing 18 holes. I was pretty relaxed going into today. Obviously looking at the weather last night, it didn't look very good, and then I opened the curtains this morning when I got up and it was perfect, no wind, gray skies but no rain. I knew if it stayed like that that the scoring was going to be good, and I'm sure a few guys -- there was a lot of guys that took advantage of that. There's a few 6-unders. I'm not sure what Tiger has got to yet. LYNN WALLACE: Thanks, Rory. Thanks for joining us. End of FastScripts |
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