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April 8, 2011
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA
Q. You mentioned the one bogey in 36 holes. How high is your confidence level right now?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I hope I can keep that going. You know, that's -- I think that's the thing in major championships is to really limit your mistakes and not -- I've been able to do that over the first couple of days. To make one bogey in 36 holes around this golf course, it's very satisfying. It would have been nice to be bogey-free, but I'm happy with where I'm at, and my game feels really good.
Q. Talk a little bit about your threesome. I think you guys were like 15-under. What was that like?
RORY McILROY: It was great. I think collectively for the last two days we were 23-under par. We played some really good golf out there, and we fed off one another, and we got a bit of momentum early and the crowd got behind us on the back nine and really pushed us along.
I think we all really enjoyed it out there, and hopefully there's more to come over the weekend.
Q. Is there experience to draw upon now going into Saturday after the last couple of years?
RORY McILROY: Not really. I mean, I just need to start tomorrow fresh and go out and just try and play some good golf, hit good shots, give myself opportunities for birdies, not think about where I'm at on the leaderboard or that it's Augusta National or that it's the Masters. I just have to go out and try to play good golf and golf that I know I'm capable of.
Q. The term young guns, whether it's a media creation or not, what about the young players in golf? Are the young guns alive and well?
RORY McILROY: I think so, yeah. I think the future is in good hands in the game of golf. Rickie has just turned 22, I'm 21, Jason is 23. You know, very early stages of our careers, and to be challenging in major championships already, it's a huge step in the right direction, and hopefully we can only get better.
Q. We've seen guys win here with the lead on the weekend by really staying very aggressive and also seen guys really play it smart. How do you approach the last two days?
RORY McILROY: Um, I'm going to approach them like I've approached the first two days, which is play smart, be aggressive when you feel you can be, and play for your pars when you feel as if there's a pin you don't really want to go for. And that's what I've done the last two days. If I haven't felt comfortable hitting to the pin, I'll hit it 20 feet left or whatever and take my two putts and get out of there. You know, if you make less mistakes than anyone else, you're going to do pretty good by the end of the week.
Q. How much fun is it to take the lead into the weekend, or is it nerve-wracking?
RORY McILROY: It's both. You know, it's what we play for. It's obviously going to be a lot of fun out there tomorrow, but at the same time, you know, I'm going to be nervous. But that's natural, and you welcome that. Hopefully I can deal with them pretty well. I've been able to deal with them pretty well before. Hopefully just go out there and enjoy it.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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