|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
UBS HONG KONG OPENDecember 4, 2011Rory McIlroyFANLING, HONG KONG MICHAEL GIBBONS: Rory, many thanks for joining us and many, many congratulations, UBS Hong Kong Open Champion. How does that feel? Eventually did it. RORY McILROY: Yeah, it does, it feels like it was a long time coming to be honest. Fantastic. You know, I've loved this city, I've loved the golf course, I've loved the tournament ever since I got here. You know, played my first Hong Kong Open in 2007. I felt like it owed me something after the playoff in 2008. I had to wait a few years for it to finally happen but to get my hands on this trophy and to win this tournament, is very special. No matter how prestigious tournaments are, you always have your favourite, and this is definitely one of my favourite tournaments and to be able to win it is fantastic. And I couldn't be happier. MICHAEL GIBBONS: Just talk us through that 18th hole. RORY McILROY: Yeah, I mean, I sort of‑‑ I've struggled‑‑ I feel as if I've struggled off the tee all week, especially at the weekend. You know, I just decided, it was slightly into the wind. I hit 3‑wood and I basically stood up and just hit it as hard as I could. I said, look, usually if you put a good, committed aggressive swing on it, it usually works out in your favour and that's what happened. And then the second shot, you know, I thought I drew a decent lie in the rough, but just got a little bit of grass caught in between the clubface and the ball, and it didn't quite fly as far as I thought it would. And then I thought with Grégory being where he was with his third shot, I thought if I could just get it up‑and‑down, it was probably going to be good enough. You know, I just hit a perfect bunker shot, and once it landed on the green, it never looked anywhere else and I think you could see how much that meant to me. You know, when the ball went in the hole, I think that's the most excited I've maybe ever been on a golf course. Yeah, it was just incredible to see the ball drop and realise that I had finally won this tournament. MICHAEL GIBBONS: Just before we go into questions, The Race to Dubai is very much alive. RORY McILROY: Yeah, it is. That was one of the goals going out today was to win this tournament to keep myself in with a shout next week. You know, that's very dependent on what Luke does because he's got such a big lead; if I can somehow get myself into contention next week, you never know. Another little bit of motivation was I woke up this morning and saw Lee Westwood shoot 62 in Sun City, and I thought I really needed to win to stay above him in the World Rankings, and there you go. (Laughter) It was nice to be able to do both. Q. You've spoken all week about your general weariness because your schedule has been so hectic lately‑‑ this is a two‑part question. With your recent change in management, does that mean you're going to scale back on a lot of events, and what's the status for Hong Kong next year? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I mean, you definitely won't see me go on a stretch like I have done this year. But that's nothing to do with my previous management company. That was me just wanting to play. That was me really just saying, you know what, last part of the year, I'm going to go and I'm going to play, and it's‑‑ that's what I wanted to do. So there's no one to really blame but myself in that regard. And yeah, I'd love to come back to Hong Kong. As I kept saying all week, this is one of my favourite tournaments of the year, and yeah, I'll do all that I can to come back. Q. Just to sort of follow‑up to, that we believe you went on a 5K run this morning? RORY McILROY: (Nodding yes). Q. And this is sort of after the last couple of days, sleeping on your feet‑‑ RORY McILROY: It was actually something Conor suggested because the last two mornings, I've just felt so lethargic, really, really lethargic and not much adrenaline in my body. And he sorted of suggested, why don't you go down to the gym, go for a run, get yourself moving, get the blood flowing and heart rate up and see if that helps. I went down this morning, got a really good sweat up, and ran 5K, did a few exercises for the core, and it seemed to work. I felt a lot better today than I did the previous couple of days. MICHAEL GIBBONS: Time on the 5K run? RORY McILROY: I was doing intervals. So one minute on 15 kilometers an hour, two minutes on 10, two minutes on 15, and took over 25 minutes. Q. Where did you run? RORY McILROY: Just in the gym on a treadmill. Q. Tell me about the stretch of the time you spent in China, the crazy tour in China with a lot of cities and then Shanghai, Shanghai again, and then Hainan and then Hong Kong. Tell us how you feel about this long stretch away from home. RORY McILROY:  Yeah, it even started before that. I played the Dunhill Links, and then I flew straight from there to Korea for the Korean Open. Then I went on the China Golf Challenge for seven days, and straight to Bermuda from there for the Grand Slam of Golf. And then obviously back to Shanghai for two weeks. So there's been a lot of travelling involved. Yeah, I mean, there's been‑‑ the China Challenge was a great experience, something I really enjoyed. But it was sometimes we were getting to bed late because of all the travel and having to get up early in the mornings, it was a pretty tough week and probably took a lot out of all of us. But it was something that I wanted to do and something I enjoyed. I mean, it's not bad having to go from China to Bermuda for the Grand Slam of Golf. It's a very nice complaint to have. But yeah, it's been a lot of travelling but it's just one of those things. If I was to work it out, if I had to do it any differently again, I would. I'd take a few more breaks in this stretch, and maybe not exert myself as much as I have. Q. You may have already answered this question, if indirectly with Lee Westwood's 62 and your gym workout, but a lot of people commented that you looked different right when you got on the first tee, that your body language was much more positive today. So I'm wondering if indeed it was those things you already mentioned or something else. And also, was there one shot that you hit today, maybe early, which kind of infused you with confidence. RORY McILROY: Definitely a little bit of extra motivation helped, seeing‑‑ I had a lot to play for, trying to keep my hopes alive for The Race to Dubai and seeing that I needed to go out and produce a really good score if I wanted to keep my No.2 ranking. So there was a lot of motivation there, and you know, I think that I hit a drive down the right on the first and was blocked out by trees, sort of punched it out maybe 20 yards short of the green and was able to get that up‑and‑down. You know, that was even a key moment in the round. Just to stay even par. I got a really good up‑and‑down on the second for birdie to sort of get me going, but I was really happy with the golf that I produced coming down the stretch. I hit two great shots into 14. Hit a great iron shot into 15. 16, 17, were okay. I could have birdied one of those two, and the last‑‑ so I produced some good golf when I needed to, which was very pleasing. Q. Is your trophy from the U.S. Open still at customs in China, or are you going to bring the Hong Kong Open trophy to Dubai? RORY McILROY: I think they have a replica trophy for me for this tournament. Yeah, it's no big deal. Q. Have you got it back yet? RORY McILROY: No, we haven't got it back yet but the USGA is working on it, so it should be‑‑ Q. So you don't know when? RORY McILROY: Not really, no. But it will be back for‑‑ I'll definitely have it for the Olympic Club next year I'm sure. (Laughter). Q. Why did they keep it? RORY McILROY: The HSBC tournament wanted to have the major trophies on display and I actually didn't bring it because‑‑ I don't know, it's a bit of a hassle to travel with if I'm perfectly honest. So they wanted it and they wanted us to ship it, so we couriered it, and there was to a certain person but that person wasn't available on site to actually receive it. And then they brought it back to the shipping agent's depot, and I went to get it and we sent someone from the tournament to go get it and they wouldn't allow him to have it. It's just stuck there. But it's being worked on, don't worry, the U.S. Open trophy is going to be safe. Q. It's still in Shanghai? RORY McILROY: I think so. (Laughter). Q. Is it a replica or original? RORY McILROY: They never actually give you the original. The one they give you‑‑ the one that everyone keeps for a year is actually a replica. The real one is in the USGA Museum in the States. But it sort of is the real one because it's the one that everyone keeps for the year. Q. From the outside, this seems like a different type of win for you, with the inner dog fight, not feeling great, confidence level is not at the highest. Is that how it feels to you, and do you feel is this a significant step forward career‑wise for you? RORY McILROY: I think so. I sort of experienced the same thing in the Shanghai Masters this year, having to really fight for it. I was one behind with four holes to go, drew level on 18 and won in the playoff. I played some of my best golf in Shanghai. I played very, very well. This week there's been glimpses of really, really good golf. On Friday and Saturday, I really did struggle. And to be able to win golf tournaments when you're not playing your best is what the likes of Tiger did week‑in, week‑out whenever he was winning seven, eight, nine tournaments a year, and that's something if you want to be a great player, you're going to have to be able to do that. I feel as if I'm learning to do that, and you know, this is a great win. To come from behind, and to draw level after nine holes and then to play very solid golf on the back nine and be able to close it out, it's something I probably haven't done before. Yeah, it was a different win, but it would be nice to walking up the last with a four‑shot lead every time, but that's just not going to happen. It was nice to finish it off like this. Q. Talk about 18, you had nearly a perfect drive to the usual spot that you are very familiar with, and then you hit a shot to the bunker. So what was on your mind, is that like, ouch, Hong Kong Open curse happened on me again? RORY McILROY: No, no, not really. It was actually a very positive thing that I hit it in the bunker, because a couple of tournaments, I've hit it into the bunker on the last, and was able to win. So I mean, whenever I won in Dubai, I hit in the bunker on the last and in Shanghai, I hit it in the bunker in the playoff. So hitting in the bunker on 18 has actually worked out well for me (laughter). It was nice to have those positive thoughts would you being in to hit those shots. I was walking up drawing on those memories and knew that I usually do okay out of bunkers on the last hole. Yeah, it wasn't a great second shot. The ball didn't come out the way I wanted it to, and that's really‑‑ really this week, there was such a premium for putting your ball on the fairway because it was so tough to control out of the rough, and even the semi‑rough like that, still it was only a sand wedge, but you still couldn't get the control on it that you wanted to. Just obviously so happy to see the ball drop in the hole. MICHAEL GIBBONS: Many congratulations once again. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|