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UBS HONG KONG OPENNovember 30, 2011Rory McIlroyFANLING, HONG KONG Q. It's good to be back here, isn't it? RORY McILROY: It is. It's great. I've made everyone aware, this is probably one of my favourite spots of the year and one of my favourite tournaments. You know, it feels good to be back. The course is in great shape. They have made a little change to it. They have taken the second‑‑ what used to be the second hole way and put in the new 15th, so it's a par 3 for a par 3, which doesn't make much of a difference, but probably makes the course flow a little bit better, just change the routing a little bit. But it's been a few years since I've been coming here and it would be nice to finally get a win. Q. You have come so mightily close on so many occasions? RORY McILROY: I have. I mean, the playoff in 2008 was‑‑ it was great to be just involved in a playoff like that, because of how good it was and then the year after, Gregory played very well down the stretch to beat me by a shot or two. I felt like I played pretty good last year, but Ian just played much better than everyone else. I've played well here the last three years without coming out on top so hopefully this could be my year. Q. This changing of the course, is it Rory‑proofing? RORY McILROY: I don't think so. I definitely don't think so. It's good. It doesn't make that much of a difference. It's only one hole and it's a par 3 and if anything, it might be more of a difficult far three, but I don't think it will change the scores too much. Q. Presuming your familiarity with the course that you know where to hit it and more particularly when not to hit it? RORY McILROY: A bit of both. I know it's‑‑ you come back to a course and it's almost natural, you know what clubs you hit off tees and you know where you want to hit it, and you know what side of green you don't want to miss it on. It's nice to come back to that.       I know how it feels for all of the guys that have been on Tour for ten, 15 years and coming back to these courses and getting familiar with them. I looked over to the marquis and I saw Manassero having lunch; he makes me feel old. Q. Is this still as relaxed a place as it always was for you? RORY McILROY: Of course, it's great, because we stay in the middle of the city and you can take your mind off the golf when you go back in, go to some nice restaurants. That's the good thing about this tournament, you come back every year, and you get to know the city better and better. And you have your favourite places that you want to go and you have your little routine of what nights you want to go where. It's a really cool tournament for me and somewhere that I've always enjoyed. Q. And the way things have gone, you've been pushed and pulled this way and that, so many more things that you have to do, and this one is back to the old style? RORY McILROY: Yeah, and saying, that it's always nice to do things like we did yesterday, going out in the harbor on the boat and it's something that if you were not doing, that you would not necessarily get a chance to do it. So it's nice to be able to do things like that. Q. We saw that the NBA just solved the lockout; are you a good NBA fan? RORY McILROY: A little bit. I like to go to a few games when I'm over in the States. Q. This year or the coming year? RORY McILROY: When I've played over in the States, I've always tried to go to a few basketball games. Q. In Miami? RORY McILROY: Yeah, that's where I'll be spending quite a lot of time, March, April time, so hopefully get to a few of their games. Q. How many of their matches have you seen? RORY McILROY: A few. I've been to the Heat five or six times. I've been to the Knicks a couple of times. I've been to the Lakers once. Been to an All‑Star Game once. So, yeah, I've been quite a lot. Q. How do you find about the lockout, do you think it's quite ridiculous for the players‑‑ RORY McILROY: I don't know. I don't really know enough about it to comment on it. But I'm just happy that it's resolved now and we get a season of basketball. Q. At the top of the list, you like football first? RORY McILROY: Soccer. Well, football, yeah, of course‑‑ I didn't know whether you meant American football. Q. How do you feel about the chance in the Champions League this time? RORY McILROY: They need a decent result against Basel I think, and I don't know, I mean, the English Premier League this year is going to be tough. Manchester City look like they are playing really well and it's going to be tough for us. They have got a 6‑point lead on us already and it's going to be tough to sort of claw that back. Q. So after Hong Kong you'll go to Dubai for another event? RORY McILROY: Yes. Q. How about Christmas? RORY McILROY: Christmas I'll spend at home. Q. Oh, finally. RORY McILROY: Finally I'll get home. Q. Will you be with Caroline? RORY McILROY: No, no, I'll be just with my family. Q. So I don't know, do you want to be with her on special occasions? RORY McILROY: I'll be spending a little time with her. I won't see her for four or five days over Christmas but I'll be spending new years with her so it's fine. Q. And you Twit together, you Twit every minute with her? RORY McILROY: No, not really. (Laughing). Q. You're the only man who can catch Luke Donald. You need to win this week and next week. Up for it? RORY McILROY: Yeah, of course. Q. Achievable? RORY McILROY: Of course it's achievable. But you know, I need to win here first to even think about it. So all I can concentrate on is trying to play the best I can here, and if I get myself into a position to win and end up winning, it makes my‑‑ at least it gives me the possibility of going to Dubai and winning The Race to Dubai. But even still, I'll have to win and Luke will have to finish quite a way below, and it doesn't look like he's done that at all this year, so I don't expect him to do it. Look, he's played great. He deserves to be where he's at. I don't think people have actually given him enough credit for what he's done this year. He's earned over 500 World Ranking points. Q. Even six months ago before he went away, all of the talk was changing and chopping and he's now established‑‑ RORY McILROY: Six months he's been, and the gap is like three points. So to catch him up, need to win a few events in the next few months. It's a nice challenge to have; the challenge of being No.2 in the world, I feel is a nice feeling. It's a good achievement, and you know, you feel like you're so close to getting to that‑‑ to be able to call yourself the No. 1 player in the world for whatever length of times it, it's still something that no one can take away from you. You know it would be a nice couple of years to cap off your first major with getting to a No. 1 spot, and following that up with another major. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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