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PGA CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 11, 2010Rory McIlroyKOHLER, WISCONSIN KELLY ELBIN: Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy joining us at the 92nd PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. This will be Rory's second PGA Championship. He tied for third last year at Hazeltine National. Rory, you won at Quail Hollow earlier this year, tied for third at the British, tied for ninth at Bridgestone. I would imagine you feel fairly good about your game coming into the final Major of the season. RORY MCILROY: Yeah, feels if I'm coming in here playing quite nicely. Obviously had a good finish at St. Andrews, and then last week played very solidly. Didn't do anything very well. It was just a very solid performance. I played the course yesterday and I liked what I saw. Today I'm going to go out and play another nine holes just to make sure I've got good lines off tees and everything. So I feel as if I'm hitting it well, and if I can keep that up for the next few days, hopefully I'll have a good chance. Q. Can you just talk about your impressions of the course, specifically the bunkering, holes like No. 6. RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I played it yesterday for the first time, and off the tee it's a little bit awkward. You've got such a big area to hit at and it's hard to -- there's a lot of bunkers, so it does give you a little bit of definition, but you've still really got to commit to the line that you want to hit it on. So off the tee, it's quite tricky. And yeah, the bunkering, it's a little different, like holes like the 6th hole where you can hit your ball in the middle of the fairway and have a blind second shot with that big bunker. And then the bunker at the green that really cuts into the middle of it, and if you -- if your ball ends up in the wrong spot on that bunker, you're going to have a tough time making a five. So it's definitely an interesting course and you've really just got to put your ball in good positions and from there I think you can get at it. Q. Clearly you're looking to make some new memories this week at this major, but would you just take us back to the British again and just explain what a special experience that was for you. RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I've never -- I've probably never been more excited about a tournament than that one. Just because I felt my record at St. Andrews was very good, and I knew that if I went in there playing some good golf that I would have a really good chance. I gave myself the best possibly chance after opening with a 63, and then I just found it very difficult on the Friday. The conditions were tough and as I said I just let the round get away from me a little bit. But to come back the way that I did on the weekend and shoot 7-under par, it gave me a lot of confidence. It wasn't the result I was looking for, obviously, but finishing third at St. Andrews was a big boost for me, and it made me realize that if I prepared properly and did the right things leading up to a tournament that I can give myself a really good chance. Q. Louis touched on The Open at St. Andrews when you look back at the three majors you played this year, how would you assess your overall performance? RORY MCILROY: The first two were very disappointing. I went to Augusta not playing that great. I missed the cut the week before in Houston and I sort of went to Augusta trying to find my game, and it's not really a place that you go and do that. So that was disappointing. The U.S. Open, again, I just -- I went there playing pretty good, but I just -- I didn't hit the -- I felt my game plan was good but just the execution wasn't there. I didn't hit the shots the way I wanted to and ended up missing the cut. So the first two majors of the season were very disappointing. Then I really tried to make amends for those two tournaments at The Open Championship by preparing very well and doing all the right things. Pulled out of the Scottish Open, to concentrate on playing links golf and I definitely think that helped me. I put in a very solid performance there, and I opened up with a 63 and played some of the best golf I played all year. So the first two majors were obviously disappointing, but the third one at St. Andrews was a big boost and hopefully I can follow that up with another good week here. I feel as if as I say I am coming into this event with some good stuff, so hopefully I can just keep that going for the next few days. Q. What would be your definition of a shock winner in a major? RORY MCILROY: I suppose someone -- someone from outside the Top-50 in the world. Outside the top -- yeah. But there's a lot of good guys that have -- that are outside the Top-50 at the minute. And I don't know, I don't think -- I don't think Graeme or Louis were shock winners. I just think they were winners that not a lot of people would have -- they would have been, you have your maybe the top ten or 15 guys that you expect to be up there, and then you've got maybe another 30 or 40 guys after that, and Louis and Graeme are probably in that group of guys, the 30 or 40 that probably they were in that group when they won both of their Majors this year. But, yeah, I mean the major championships have got a lot more wide open, it seems, in the past couple of years, the likes of Yang winning last year at the PGA, and Graeme and Louis; and you know there's been a lot of first-time major winners at this event, as well. So it would be nice to keep that trend going. Q. Kohler instructed Pete Dye to design this course like Ballybunion in Ireland; is it really like an Irish links course, or is it more like an American course that just looks like an Irish course? RORY MCILROY: It definitely looks more like a links course than it plays. Yeah, especially with the overnight rain that we had, the course is still very soft and you wouldn't find a links course in Ireland playing that soft. Esthetically, and visually, it does look very much like a links course, but it just doesn't play like one. Q. There have been some really, really low rounds shot this year, a couple of 60s, and your great round at Quail Hollow. I know when you were 16 or 14 you shot this 61 at royal port rush. I wonder like when you're that age and just kind of fearless, maybe you can do that, but do you think that kind of round -- is it harder to do that now that you're a professional? What would it take for you to shoot a crazy low round like that now? RORY MCILROY: I think it's easier because I'm a better player. But, yeah, I mean I think that -- the thing about going low, guys are just, I suppose that they're -- there was a point maybe when I was just about to turn pro or the first year as a pro where I might get to say 6- or 7-under par and then sort of try and protect that score coming in. Whereas now, you are just trying to make as many birdies as possible and trying to shoot the lowest score that you can. You have had two 59s this year on TOUR; I've had a 62. Guys have, I don't know if it's because they have witnessed the other guys go low, as well, but it just seems to me there's a lot more lower numbers being shot this year. And it's a great thing. I don't think the golf courses have got any easier. The guys are just getting better and they're getting more accustomed to shooting really low numbers, and I think that's why you're seeing so many of them this year. KELLY ELBIN: For the record that 61 at Royal portrush was 2005. Q. Does Tiger's form and Lee's absence and Phil Mickelson's problems change attitudes and expectations at all this week? RORY MCILROY: I think so. Yeah. I alluded to it earlier that major championships have become a lot more wide open the last couple of months. And Tiger's having his problems on the course. He didn't play very well last week, and Phil had a bad round -- or I don't think you can read much into Phil's round on Sunday; and Lee having to pull out as well. So there's going to be a lot of guys here thinking that it's the right time for them to break through, and I'm definitely one of those guys. And you can never write the likes of Tiger and Phil off. But I definitely think it's, guys have a lot, they have got a better chance coming into this event with those two guys not playing great and Lee obviously not playing. Q. I remember you saying before the event last year you wanted to play Stenson in the singles because he was the top-ranked player there. Does the same apply to the Ryder Cup and does that say a lot about your character? RORY MCILROY: Whoever I play at the Ryder Cup on the Sunday I wouldn't really care who I was going to play. It would be nice to take down one of the top guys and I think that is something to do with my character. I want to play the best player on the -- I want to play the best player on that team or the top-ranked player on that team or whatever. But as long as I can win a point for Europe on that day, that's all that really matters. But it would be nice if -- I mean I suppose just for a personal sense of achievement to take down one of the top guys. But you just want to win your match for the team, so. Q. Although Tiger's won more than his fair share perhaps of majors over the last decade and a bit, how much does it surprise you that Ernie hasn't won a Major since 2002? RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I mean Ernie went through an injury, as well, on his knee and it's taken him quite a long time to get over that. And he started playing very, very good golf this year by winning twice out here. And the thing about majors is you can -- you might have ten or 12 weeks of the year where you play very, very well, but one of those weeks might not necessarily be a major and it just, you just got to play well and on that given week, and if it doesn't quite happen, it doesn't quite happen. So, but, yeah, I mean Ernie's had, what, since 2003, this could be his 20th major something like that, so yeah, I mean it is surprising for someone that's won Majors before and but I mean he's been in contention a lot. He had a chance to win at Carnoustie. He had a chance to win at Tulsa, where Tiger won there. I'm sure he's had a few others, as well; those are just the two that came to mind. But he is still playing some great golf, and he's been one of the best players in the world this year. So I wouldn't be surprised to see him on the leaderboard this week, given the nature of this golf course, where if it does get windy, his flat ball flight will be very good around here. Q. Are there any particular parts of the course that you find to be over the top or goofy? RORY MCILROY: Not really. There was a couple of things that sort of, well, I suppose got to me yesterday, I. Hit a tee shot up the 6th hole and I had a blind second shot, and which wasn't -- and then they tucked the pin on 17 behind that bunker on the right, so you couldn't see that pin either. But I don't think they will do that in the tournament or I hope they don't do it in the tournament. But those were the only two things. I think the big thing about this golf course is getting lines off tees and really committing to your targets. Because you're hitting into such a big area out there and sometimes it's hard to really find a definition of where the left side and the right side of the fairway is. So you've just really got to commit to the lines. Q. Jim Nantz from CBS declared you the favorite to win this week. When you hear something like that do you embrace that challenge, or what are your thoughts? RORY MCILROY: It doesn't really make a difference. I realize that I'm one of the top-10 players in the world and people are going to like my chances coming into this event I've played nicely over the past few weeks, and I've got high expectations of myself, as well. So it's nice when people think that you're one of the favorites going in. But it really doesn't make any difference when you get out there on Thursday. Q. Could you talk a bit about being a young guy on Tour and competing against guys twice your age and also your relationship with some of the other younger guys on Tour. RORY MCILROY: Yeah, it's great. There's actually a good group of young guys out here at the minute. You got the likes of Rickie Fowler, AK and Hunter and Sean O'Hair, Dustin Johnson. They're a little older than myself and Rickie, but they're still in their 20s. So there's a good group of young players out here, and you've got someone like Ryo Ishikawa who is still a teenager and playing great golf, as well. So yeah, I mean I think that golf's in good hands at the minute. There's a lot of great young guys coming up and we have got a good relationship as well. We play practice rounds together and we always, whenever you get paired with one of the guys in the tournament you're looking forward to it because you can talk about stuff that we like to talk about rather than trying to talk to a 40-year-old. (Laughter.) Q. Just the fact that you've never been in contention coming down the stretch in the back nine in a major make any difference at all this weekend? What do you have to do for the first three and a half days to get your self in that position? What's the key? RORY MCILROY: Patience, I think. That's the hardest part is getting yourself into the position and then if you look at the win that I had this year at Quail Hollow, I held off Phil Mickelson and Cabrera down the stretch, who are two major champions. So if I can do that on a golf course like Quail Hollow, then there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to do it here. I know it's a little bit different, it is a major, but the idea is the same, trying to get the ball in the hole. But, yeah, it's, yeah, I mean I think that, yeah patience is the key this week and just trying to really, because there's going to be times when you're going to hit the ball in the rough or in one of these deep bunkers and you're going to have to take your punishment and be happy with a bogey and move on. But there is a few holes out here that you can make a score and you got to take advantage of those holes. Q. When someone has expectations as high as you do, self-expectations, how hard is it to find acceptance on the golf course? And how much did you learn in that regard at the Masters this year and at St. Andrews? RORY MCILROY: Yeah, sometimes it is hard for me to accept that you're not going to have a good day all the time. And I think that's something that I'm still learning how to do is trying to accept the days that don't go as well as others do. But that all just comes through experience, and I feel as if I'm getting better at it. But the likes of you saw me at the Irish Open and at Killarney, I was very, very down on myself there, and I just wasn't -- yeah, I wasn't accepting of the fact that I was having a bad day. And I just sort of let my head go down and just sort of tried to get to the clubhouse as fast as possible. But you're going to have days like that and other days you're going to wake up and you're going to hit it great and you're going to see the lines of putts and they're going to go in and I think that you got to realize that you're not going to do that every day, but you are trying to get to that point every day. So, yeah, I mean it's hard. Someone as young as I am, it's hard to have patience all the time, but I'm trying to keep learning in that regard, in that respect, and if I can just keep being patient and I mean that's what everyone tells me it's just everyone tells me Rory just be patient, but sometimes it's hard to do that and when you're trying to get somewhere so fast, you know, it's only my third year as a pro and it's been quite, the success has come quite fast and you don't really want to slow down. So but, yeah, I mean you got to be really patient in this game and I realize that. KELLY ELBIN: Rory McIlroy, ladies and gentlemen, thanks, Rory. RORY MCILROY: Thank you. 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