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IRISH OPEN PRESENTED BY DISCOVER IRELANDJuly 27, 2011Rory McIlroyKILLARNEY, IRELAND STEVE TODD: Rory, many thanks for joining us. We just had Darren in talking about the homecoming for the two major champions. I guess it's a week that you've been looking forward to this. RORY McILROY: Yeah, it is, I don't think I've ever been this excited about an Irish Open. I think, you know, with Darren doing what he did a couple of weeks ago, and myself winning in the U.S., I think there's a tremendous atmosphere and a great buzz about the tournament. You know, looking forward to getting out there tomorrow and expecting big crowds. Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it. I feel like I haven't played that much golf since playing The Open, and so it will be nice to get back into some competitive action and get ready for the next three weeks. STEVE TODD: What's the reaction been so far when you've been here? RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's been great. I only got in last night, so haven't really had that much time to sort of soak it all in but it's been great. I think everybody is excited the tournament is back in Killarney this year. They always come out in force, and they support the event he very well. It should make for a great week. STEVE TODD: We asked Darren what it would mean to have an Irish Open double, but yourself, a U.S. Open and Irish Open, what would that mean to you? RORY McILROY: It would be nice to win the two in the same year. I'm not sure how much Darren's actually practised after the only, so I'm not sure what his form is going to be like. (Laughter) but it will be tough. I think the scoring will be pretty good. It was pretty good last year. I remember Ross Fisher shot 61 in one of the rounds, so you're going to have shoot the lights out to have a chance to win. Q. What exactly have you done since The Open? Have you seen Michael Bannon for some remedial work in your swing? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I actually hit balls with Michael Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday last week. So we just spent a couple of hours with him every day. But we were actually quite surprised. The swing was in a really good shape, and you know, I'm hitting it well. Hitting it really nice. Hit a few balls, practised for a couple of hours last night when I got it here, and the game feels in pretty good shape. Q. Did you take some time off, as well, holiday? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I was -- yeah, I went away for five days, so I didn't hit a ball for five days, which was nice. So that's why I went to practise last night. But it's been really good. Q. What did you do on your holiday? RORY McILROY: Not much. Just relaxed, chilled out. Got out of the bad weather at home and just sort of went away and had a few days of sun. Q. Reflecting on your Open experience now and the impact that the U.S. victory had on that, do you think looking back that it kind of took any edge off you in that tournament, or was it more the fact that the conditions were a beast? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I mean, expectations were very high going into the event, definitely. I felt I was going into the tournament playing very well. I felt as if my preparation had been really good, and you know, I hung in really well for the first 2 1/2 days. It was just a really tough Saturday. It was hard to -- I played with Rickie; he shot a 68 which was a phenomenal score in those conditions. If I could have shot something similar to that on Saturday it would have been nice. Yeah, it was a frustrating weekend for me because I felt as if I had the game to contend. It was just tough for me in the conditions to put a couple of good scores in the weekend. Q. Were you surprised the reaction to your comments afterwards? RORY McILROY: Not really. I mean, I was very -- I was very frustrated coming off the golf course on Sunday. Yeah, I mean, if I had had a little more time to think about it; yeah, I probably would have said something different. Yeah, I was honest and just really said what I felt at the time. I just said that these conditions this week just didn't really suit me and suit my game. So it was tough. I'm going to have to learn how to play in those conditions going forward. We don't really have that much practise; when it's blowing 30 miles an hour, you don't really want to go out and hit that many balls. It's going to happen in the future where you're going to have conditions like that. You just have to deal with them as best you can. Q. Was it a bit unfair, because Tiger never won in the wind, he won his three Opens when it was flat-calm, was that sort of what you alluded to, that you do get a flat-calm Open? RORY McILROY: Yeah, definitely feel as if I did get an Open Championship where the weather was quite benign, I'd have a lot better chance of contending. Q. McGinley was suggesting the other day that you had all of the shots to play in the wind but it's a case of perhaps learning to read the wind and when to play the shots rather than how to play them. He said it might be an idea if some day you went out with and played with Christy O'Connor, Christy Junior and whatever, learning from that direction. What would you think of that suggestion? RORY McILROY: Yeah, definitely. I think another thing, as well, you can play all the shots you can. I know I have all the shots and I can play them on the range but it's actually having that confidence or trust, bringing those shots from the range on to the golf course when you're actually -- because if you don't get it quite right on the range it doesn't matter. Where on the golf course, you have to be very precise, especially at a golf course like St. George's where if you're off by a couple of yards here or there, it can throw the ball either way and put you in a pretty tricky position. But yeah, obviously Darren's unbelievable in the wind and he knows when to play the right shot at the right time and maybe if I go out and play with him, I could learn. Q. I notice you have a couple of bandages on your fingers, what are they from? Tennis, perhaps? (Laughter). RORY McILROY: (Chuckling) Very funny. I got a callous on this one just because I haven't hit balls for five days. And this finger has actually got a slightly odd-shaped bone, so I just tape it to sort of keep it in place sometimes. It was pretty sore. Q. I've not seen the betting but with Lee missing the cut at Sandwich, I imagine you're probably favourite for the US PGA. Is that how you see it? RORY McILROY: I'm sorry. I haven't looked at Paddy Power for awhile. Yeah, I mean, I don't think you can really -- yeah, probably think I probably am. But you can only go into a tournament thinking how you're feeling and how your game is, and at the minute, it feels pretty good. I've got two weeks to -- I still obviously want to win the next two weeks, but there are weeks where you want to prepare and get yourself and get your game into the best possible shape going into the US PGA. So I like the PGA setups. The last two times, I've went there, finished third. My worst finish in the PGA is third. So I'm pretty confident going into there. Q. During the U.S. Open, you seemed in control, so first of all, did you feel in control the whole time? And second of all, how do you know to sort of repeat and get back into that state? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I did. I felt very calm the whole week. I mean, I think going out in the U.S. Open, especially the first day, all I was trying to do was spring a few pars together at the start and just get into the round. I played with Dustin and Phil that first day and Phil made a double at our first hole and Dustin made a triple at the second. I was just trying to play my way into the round and once you do that, you get comfortable and you can get into your rhythm a little bit. But yeah, I felt good the whole week. I felt as if my emotions were in control and I felt the trip to Haiti was a very important part of that week. Every time I may be got nervous over a shot, I sort of think about what's the worst that can happen, it's only a golf shot at the end of the day and that definitely helped. Q. Do you think that you now know how, that you've been there, that you can repeat it? RORY McILROY: Yeah, it was a great experience for me to get over the hump of winning a Major Championship and now that I've won one, I have the confidence and I think that I have the know-how to go out and win more. Q. Did it feel it different going into The Open as a Major winner, the first major, after winning a major? RORY McILROY: Yeah, it definitely did. I just think the expectation was a lot higher, and I felt as if the spotlight was on me, but I don't mind being in that position. That's something that's always. Q. Is that something that Darren will have to deal with now going into the US PGA? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think it will be nice. I think it's going to be Charl, myself and Darren, the three major champions, three ball the first two days. So at least we all know each other and it will be good fun to go out and play in that group. So yeah, I think Darren's win was so popular all over the world, what he has been through and how long he's been able to win his first major. I watched the documentary last night on BBC, and just to see how much it meant to him and his family, it's a very popular win. I don't think anyone could be more pleased for him. Q. What do you know about Atlanta Athletic Club and have you been there and will you get there for one day next week before Bridgestone? RORY McILROY: No. I'm just going to go straight to the Bridgestone. I've sort of just done that the last couple of years, and I'll go straight from Akron on Sunday night and get to Atlanta and then I'll be there for three days. So the PGA is a little different, because you don't really take -- no one takes a week off before. Yeah, I don't really know much about it. I remember watching a little bit of it in 2001 when David Toms won. But I don't really know much about the course to be honest. I think JP caddied there for McGinley whenever it was there. So I think he still remembers quite a bit of the course. Q. Chubby mentioned a change in attitude in body language between the Masters and the U.S. Open. Do you recall that conversation about being more engaged in it, not having your head down, just showing up on the first tee and walking through the crowd and not worrying about looking at them and that sort of thing? RORY McILROY: Yeah, definitely. It was a thing that Michael Vaughn, the former English cricket captain, had mentioned to Chubby. He told me to look back at that last day of the Masters ask look at my body language and look at how much, even on the front nine when I was still in the lead, how much I was looking down at my feet and down on the ground instead of keeping my eyes up and maybe about the level of the crowd. It just gives you a more confident body language and your chest is out, even if it's a subconscious thing. But it did; it definitely helped. Q. Did it make you feel different at the U.S. Open? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think when you walk more upright, you're a little more confident in the way you walk. I needed a change in attitude, as well. I needed to believe a bit more and believe that I can could do it. Q. As a young Irish golfer, obviously your National Championship would have been a huge priority, now that the Majors come before that, does that lessen the desire to win the Irish Open or is that still the major goal for you? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think everyone, no matter what country you're from, you want to win your National Open. And you know, being Major Champion and coming here this year, you know, expectations are going to be very high. It would be great to win the Irish Open. Haven't had the best results in this tournament last couple of years, but as I said at the start, really excited about the week and just ready to get going. Q. Has Darren's win helped you in terms of the spotlight on you isn't quite as crazy as it was just after the U.S. Open? RORY McILROY: Yeah, a little bit I think. It's still -- yeah, I think, I mean, it's something that has not really crossed my mind, it's great that Darren has won and I can have a bit of a quiet time. Maybe a little bit. It will probably help this week and the next couple of week, heading into the final major of the career. Q. Your management company issued a statement after The Open about your private life; did that stuff affect you at all going into The Open and since then, as well? RORY McILROY: No, not really. I feel like once I'm on the golf course, it's nice to have five hours just to think about golf and just sort of all you're doing is trying to get yourself around the golf course and really just concentrating on that. No, I mean, it didn't affect me at all at The Open. It was more I just didn't play as best as I could in the conditions, and that's why I didn't -- still had a decent finish but wasn't the finish I would have hoped for. Q. Did you feel The Open, three weeks after the U.S. Open and it was all positive, Rory is the best thing since sliced before he had and everything, did you feel there was going to be backlash because of the comments you made; did you feel that was the end of the honeymoon a bit? RORY McILROY: Yeah of course it's the nature of the media; they build you up and build you up and build you up and can't wait to put you back down again. It's just the way it is. I'm going to have to go through this for the rest of my career. I know that half the stuff written in the media is not 100 per cent correct anyways. So, it's just, yeah, one of those things I'm going to have to deal with. Q. And the scrutiny on you and your private life now, is that something you can come to terms with or struggling to come to terms with? RORY McILROY: No, it's fine. I try to keep it as private as possible. Sometimes it's not possible but it is what it is, and you just have to handle that the best you can. Q. Darren obviously played a very important part in your early career; has he come looking for advice on how to deal with being a Major Champion? RORY McILROY: No, not at all. I think he's okay. Q. Is there anything you would say to him? RORY McILROY: Not really no. Would I say to him enjoy it but I think he has enjoyed it. So no, he's been around a lot longer than I have. And you know, he knows how to handle himself. Q. I wanted to ask you about you playing with the Taoiseach. Have you met him? RORY McILROY: No, no. I've never met him. (Laughter) I'm playing with my dad today, as well, so that should be good fun. Q. One last golf issue. RORY McILROY: Thank you. Q. You've had one game essentially since -- one competitive outing since the U.S. RORY McILROY: Yeah. Q. And it's an important two weeks, three competitions coming up, do you feel that you're in good shape heading into this period? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I feel as if I am. I feel as if I'm hitting the ball as good as I have all year but you never really know until you're out on the golf course and you know you have to get a little bit sharper around the greens and in the scoring aspects of the game. But no, it feels -- it does feel pretty good. As I said, I mean, this would be a great one to win. Akron would be great to win. But as long as I feel sharp and really 100 per cent prepared going into the US PGA, that's all I'm really concentrating on. STEVE TODD: Thank you very much, Rory. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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