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WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIPFebruary 21, 2011Rory McIlroyMARANA, ARIZONA PAUL SYMES: Rory, thanks a lot for coming in and welcome. Your last tournament in Dubai unfortunately couldn't have been happy with the way it finished, but if you played the way you did the first two days then you'll be a tough man to beat this week. RORY McILROY: Yeah, coming away from Dubai, a couple weeks ago, I took a lot of positives from it, the first two days, and even the first three days the way I played. I played some really, really good golf, some positive stuff. And even in the third day I got off to a rough start, but hung together well. And I'm just tried to play some solid golf, hit fairways and greens. And ended up finishing okay. And then obviously was pretty disappointed with the way everything finished on Sunday, but, you know, it was another learning curve for me. I can take a lot from it and hopefully put it into -- put it to good use over the course of the season. PAUL SYMES: That was obviously stroke play. This is match play, a different feel to this week. Do you approach it any differently or is it business as usual? RORY McILROY: Yeah, obviously there's going to be points in matches where you're going to have to react to what your opponent does. But for the start of the match you're just trying to get yourself into it, and I suppose play the course rather than anything else. Later on in the match you might have to think about what your opponent is doing a little bit. But, yeah, business as usual. If I go ahead and play the way I have done the first two tournaments of the year then I know that I'll be a pretty tough guy to get rid of. PAUL SYMES: In match play your first opponent, Jonathan Byrd, have you played at all? RORY McILROY: I think he's won two tournaments in his last ten starts, so he's obviously playing pretty good. I watched a bit of golf in Hawaii, the start of the year, there, and he played very well. And, yeah, obviously, you know, he had a good run, but you're never going to get easy matches this week. I'm sure he'll be a really tough opponent. And I'll have to play my best or somewhere near my best to try to beat him. Q. I want to ask you about a couple of holes. 6th hole, the par-3 that comes in between a couple of difficult par-4s, can you tell me how you approach that strategy-wise, is it a relief between those two par-4s? RORY McILROY: I don't think it's -- I mean it's still a very difficult hole. I think that the biggest thing is club selection and getting your distance right, because it's a pretty shallow green. I think, you know, when they put the pin up on the right it plays a little longer. I think it's something like 14 or 15 to carry the bunker. And then when they put the pin sort of middle left, any shot that goes a little left of the pin is going to feed off the green. So I think distance control is a big factor on that hole. I think you're not going to see that many 2s on it this week, I'd say a 3, if you make 3 there every day you're not going to lose too many of them. Q. And the 12th hole comes between a couple of par-5s on the back. So if it's a long hole, with that elevation, the strategy, what's your strategy there? RORY McILROY: Again, I think with all the greens out here you depend on where the pin is. You've got to look at where is the right place to try to put your ball on the green. Today the 12th hole was playing a 5-iron. And because there's such an elevation change, as well, there's a little bit of a guessing game, you know, how short or how long it's going to play. So you've really got to get your club selection right again. It's a hole, again, where it if you make -- say you get through a few rounds here, if you make a 3 on it every time you're not going to lose too many of them. They're two really good holes, and it's not really -- I mean you're going to win more holes with a par there than you are going to lose it. Q. You touched on this last year, I was wondering if you could talk about it again, but specifically the youth movement within the top 64 now with Matteo joining the group at age 17 and the rest of you guys? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I played Matteo this morning and it's hard to believe he's in this tournament as a 17 year old. It's pretty incredible, really. And there's so many young guys coming through, even the younger guys like Noh Seung-yui from Korea and you've got Ryo Ishikiawa, Rickie Fowler, Matteo Manassero and myself, all guys that are 21 and younger. So, yeah, it's -- I think it's great. It's great for the game of golf, it makes it a little more exciting. And add to that group the likes of Dustin Johnson, I think him, the guys that are in their mid-20s, it's exciting times for golf. Q. I was just wondering since this is a little bit of a different format, that you come in here and think differently at all or play differently at all? Do you play the man, do you play the course? RORY McILROY: I think you've got to get a balance between playing the man and playing the course. As I said earlier I think you sort of start off matches just playing the course and trying to find your rhythm and getting into it. And then as the matches sort of progress and you get further into them sometimes you have to react to what your opponent does, even if you're one or 2-down with a few to go, you're going to have to play a little more aggressive, make some birdies. You can't count on your opponent making a mistake out here, because everyone is too good for that out here. You've got to get a bit of a balance. But the thing about match play, as well, is if you get off to a good start it gives you a nice cushion or a little bit of an advantage. Especially when it's only an 18-hole match, every hole that you win is pretty crucial. Q. Where are you in that instance where you find yourself where you start to react to your opponent, what do you do to maintain sort of your mental equanimity without going off, without pressing too hard? RORY McILROY: Yeah, again, you need to find the right -- there's no point in trying to press too hard and start being too aggressive and missing greens in places that you can't. You've got to still play smart, but know when to be aggressive and know when not to. And hopefully this week I won't need to get myself into that position too much. But, you know, if you do, I mean I was 4-down through 6 last year against Kevin Na on the first round and managed to come back and beat him in the last. But when you're 4-down through 6, you still have plenty of holes to make up some ground, so you can still stay a bit more patient. If you're 3-down with 5 to go or something like that, that's when you need to push. But I think the finish on this course, as well, allows you to be aggressive. The 15th is a drivable par-4. And 16 is a very tough par-3, but 17 and 18 if you can take tight lines off the tee, it can leave you with an easier second shot. So it gives you opportunities to be aggressive and really take advantage of some of the holes if you've got a little bit of length. Q. Just in general, if you're asked to give a little progress report on where Rory McIlroy is now in his career and where he's going, how would you sum it up, what would you say? RORY McILROY: Where, from the start of my career? Q. At the moment. RORY McILROY: At the moment? I think it's -- you know, if you look -- I suppose if you look at it by the numbers, 7th in the world and I suppose only -- the only thing I am disappointed on is only winning twice in three and a half years or whatever it is, since I turned pro. But apart from that it's been -- I feel as if I'm ahead of schedule. I mean I didn't think I could have got to this level as quickly as I have done since turning pro. Having two great chances last year to win Majors, and just a couple of things I let slip by. Three top-3s in Majors by the time I'm 21. It's been very -- it's been pretty good progress. I'm happy. I still think I have a long way to go to get to where I want to and try to fulfill the potential that I think I have. But I definitely feel as if I'm on the right path and things are going -- moving in the right direction. Q. A little bit off topic, here. But when is the point when you were first aware of Graeme McDowell and what he was doing on the golf course? RORY McILROY: He started -- he obviously won a few big amateur events back home. He won the Irish Close Championship, and won South of Ireland and then went over to the States and played great in college. So whenever that was, 2001, 2002, something like that. Q. He was somebody you would keep an eye on? RORY McILROY: Yeah, he's always one of the best amateurs in Ireland, whenever I was younger. He was always one of the names that people would mention. Q. Speak to the camaraderie you guys have now that you're both out and traveling together and doing that kind of stuff? RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's been great. When I turned pro, he played a lot of practice rounds with me. And he sort of took me under his wing a little bit and showed me the ropes and stuff. It was great to be able to hang around with him. I think he worked well for me, as well. He has a little different approach to the game than I have, which I think helps in a way. Because I would be sometimes a little too aggressive or over aggressive and he's more of a thinker. So a little bit of him rubbing off on me, probably isn't a bad thing. It's nice to spend a bit of time with him. So even today just talking about your different strategies for different holes and seeing how he -- because he gets -- I think he gets the most out of his game. And he really plots his way around the golf course, and really thinks about it. Q. One of the things that the fans love to do with this tournament is look at the brackets and all the intriguing match ups. I notice you're a big fan of the game. Do you find yourself tempted to look through the matches and the match ups and say, gee, I wonder what they're going to talk about? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I mean there's a few interesting ones I think in the first round. I think you've got Camilo who plays Tim Clark, which I think will be a pretty interesting match. My bracket, I think I'm in the Player bracket, Furyk is in there and Kaymer is in there, as well, so it will be a pretty tough group. But, yeah, there's always going to be intriguing match ups. I think Tim plays Nick Watney, I think that will be a good one for a first round match. You're always interested in seeing who plays who. But as long as you can just concentrate on the guy you're playing, at the end of the day, that's the most important. Q. Obviously this event two years ago was a big event for you, it was probably when America-at-large found out about you. Can you just give us your reflections on two years ago and what stands out from that week? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I mean it was great. I think this was my first time as a pro coming over to America and playing. It was a great week. We got off to -- I mean to get to the quarter finals and get beaten by the eventual champion it was a big week for me. I was coming off the win in Dubai, so I was playing well and my confidence was high. I remember I had a really tough second round match against Hunter Mahan, which I was able to come back from and win. I think I was two or three down with a few to go, and I was able to overturn him, which was great. And then I beat Timmy Clark the next day, who had just beaten Tiger the previous day. I thought he was going to be a tough match and played really well. I played probably my best golf of the week against Geoff, and he was just too good for me and beat me 2-to-1. It was a good week for me. It was a good three week stretch. I played this tournament and played Honda Classic and played Doral and played pretty well at the Honda and was in contention after two rounds at Doral, but just gave it away a little bit. It was a nice start to the States for me, definitely. Q. Just go back to that match you had with Geoff Ogilvy, any advice you can give to Padraig Harrington, they've got an interesting first round match on Wednesday? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I don't think you'll see a shortage of putts going on. They both putt it pretty well. No, I mean Geoff obviously has a great record in this event, and obviously loves match play and loves this golf course, loves desert golf. So I think if you want to pick a few players that you don't really want to meet in earlier rounds, he's probably one of them. Q. Speaking of guys with a great record in this event, I know you're close with Lee. Are you surprised that you already have a better record in this event than he does? I don't think he's made it past the second round. I think he's quite a good match play guy? RORY McILROY: Well, it depends how you view this week. It's a tough one. You can play well and get beaten or you can play average and win, you know. It really depends who you get on the day. It's -- it is a tough one. I think you do have match play specialists, and Ryder Cups and he's shown he's great at match play. But you'll have to ask him why he hasn't got a great record. I really can't see any reason why he shouldn't have. Q. You talk about a time when you were playing well and your confidence was high. Have you ever had an experience where you weren't playing all that well, but your confidence was still high and how did you sustain it and when you lost it, how did you get it back, other than just by playing better? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I mean it was probably this time last year. I got beaten in the second round here last year and I went to the Honda Classic and finished middle of the field. I went to Doral, didn't finish that good. And then missed the cut at the Houston Open and The Masters. It wasn't a really good stretch for me, and confidence wasn't that high, to be honest. But you've just got to keep working hard and you work on the right things or feel as if you're working on the right things, and it will turnaround sooner or later, you've just got to stay patient and hope that it turns around for you quickly. But I missed the cut at the Masters and took two weeks off, went home and played a bit of golf. And sort of started trying to find the enjoyment for the game again. Went the next week and won at Quail Hollow. It's a funny game, it definitely is. End of FastScripts |
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