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THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDE INSURANCE

June 3, 2011

Rory McIlroy

DUBLIN, OHIO

Q. You mentioned not how you hoped to play but still some positives.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I felt as if I played good enough to shoot something in the 60s but I just made too many mistakes out there. I made two bogeys on the front nine from the middle of the fairway with a 9-iron and a sand wedge in my hand. You just can't do that sort of stuff.
And then 14 was playing tough today with that pin position, but to make double there was quite disappointing.
But you know, I was happy with how I handled everything because I did make mistakes, but it seemed like every time I made a mistake I came back with a birdie or came back to just sort of rectify it.
I feel like I'm playing okay, just need to limit the mistakes going into the weekend.

Q. What would it mean to you to win Jack's tournament?
RORY McILROY: It would mean a lot. I've been saying all week this is one of my favorite weeks of the year, one of my favorite golf courses, and to win here with the list of champions that there's been on this golf course, including Jack himself, I'd love to put my name on that list, yeah, definitely.

Q. In contention now heading into the weekend, where you want to be. How will this course change and how does your mindset change?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think the course will get a little firmer as the week goes on. It's starting to firm up already. Some of the pin positions out there today were pretty tricky. It's sort of reflecting why the scoring isn't as low as sometimes it usually is here.
You know, it depends on what the guys do this afternoon. I'm in there sort of in the lead, and hopefully I can still be within a couple going into the weekend and have a good go at it.

Q. Frustrated but content maybe that you didn't lengthen the lead?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I mean, I'm frustrated with some of the mistakes. I've just got to accept whatever happens out on the golf course. Frustrated with some of the mistakes I made, but I'm happy enough. You know, I'm thereabouts going into the weekend. There's still a lot of golf left to play. I know that and everyone else knows that. I just need to, as I said, just limit those mistakes. If I can keep the silly bogeys off the card, I think I'll be all right.

Q. Your galleries today show that you are one of the guys that people come here to see. Do you think that whole Masters experience enhanced that a little bit?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, definitely. You know, the support and the -- yeah, everything, how the crowds have been towards me after what happened, it's been fantastic. You know, I really appreciate it. You just want to sort of go out there and play some good golf for them because they come out to watch you, and it's nice that they come out to watch you. As I said, you want to go out and try and entertain them a little bit.

Q. You said yesterday after that good afternoon round that you were looking forward to playing in the morning, and I inferred from that you were looking forward to going lower. Not anybody went real low this morning. What was the reason for that?
RORY McILROY: As I said, some of the pin positions out there were very tricky. The greens are firming up a little bit. If you miss these fairways, you don't really have a chance to get it close because the rough is so much thicker than it has been previous years. You've got to hit it really well out here to give yourself opportunities.
I still made six birdies out there today and shot even par. I feel like there's a lot of birdies out there, but it's tough to sort of keep it going the whole way around.

Q. I saw in the newspaper today that you're down to Haiti on Monday for UNICEF. What inspired you to do that?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I signed up with UNICEF at the start of the year, and it's something -- you know, they were very keen for me to just go and see what they do. I had next week off, and it sort of just fit in.
It'll be a huge eye-opener for me. I mean, I don't really know what to expect. I've heard stories and everything, but you know, it'll be great just to go down there and see what they do and see how they're helping people that are nowhere near as fortunate as we are.

Q. What inspired you to do that, a guy your age?
RORY McILROY: You know, we get -- as someone in the public eye, you get a lot of requests from charities. Whenever UNICEF approached us, it was -- I felt like it was a good fit for myself and for UNICEF. They work primarily with children, and I feel like I'm the sort of age that I can relate to them in a way, just being sort of a similar age, and that was really the reason why I decided to sort of be a part of it.

Q. People have said when they go into something like this, you just said you don't know what to expect, but obviously you're going into a disastrous type situation where people are suffering and it changes their lives. Have you thought about what it's going to be like to see the suffering?
RORY McILROY: I mean, I think it'll -- once I get this golf tournament over and done with on Sunday night, I'll probably think about it a little more. But you know, I'm sure you can't prepare yourself for what you're going to see and how people have been affected down there. I haven't thought about it that much, but I'm sure as it comes closer, I'll start thinking about it a little more.

Q. Is there something that has cultivated the desire to give back this early in life?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I mean, I'm not sure. You always want to -- when you're in the position that you're in, it's easier to help people out. You can raise awareness in a way. You're well-known and you can raise awareness for what's going on. I felt like this was something I wanted to be part of, and I think they do a really great job and they try hard to -- you know, yeah. I just wanted to be a part of it. There's no more I can really say.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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