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WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIPFebruary 26, 2012Rory McIlroyMARANA, ARIZONA SCOTT CROCKETT: Rory, thanks for coming in and joining us. Obviously disappointed, not the result you hoped for. Give us your thoughts on the day and the week as a whole. RORY MCILROY:  Yeah, you know, not the result that I wanted going out this afternoon. It's still been a positive week. I got through a couple of matches early on this week, which could have went either way. I dug in there and I was able to find some good golf when I needed to. So that was a positive. Yeah, it's a good result. It's, again, not what I was looking for. But I can look back on this week and take many positives out of it. SCOTT CROCKETT: All week we've been talking about getting a good start, and you didn't do that in the final. That was the key to you not winning, maybe. RORY MCILROY: I had a chance to go up on the first by four feet and missed. We played pretty ‑‑ we played 2 and 3 very well. We both birdied those. I got fortunate on 4. Hunter made bogey from the middle of the fairway and I had to take a penalty drop. So that half was pretty fortunate. He sort of gave me that one. I felt that missing the putt on the first tee, I felt like he gave me that one back in a way. 6, 7 and 8 were the real key holes on the front nine. He birdied 6. He missed the green on 7. And I followed him on there, which was just a mental error. I should have been going long of the pin. I was trying to go right of it, but I should have been going long of it, as well. And it was just a bad mistake. I made another bogey on the 8th hole, which let him go another hole ahead. That was for me the turning point in the match were those three holes. SCOTT CROCKETT: Was this morning's start‑‑ sorry. This afternoon's start something to do with this morning, it took a lot out of you? RORY MCILROY: I'm not sure, because I felt liken during that stretch I had some good shots and I played some good holes. Hunter hit it close on the third hole and I followed him in, and he holed the putt in front of me and I followed him in. So we made two good 2s there. Maybe a little bit. I was so up for that match this morning. It was so great to get through. You know, to have lunchand ‑‑ I said it in here last night, that would be the difficult thing would be to get myself up again for this afternoon. I tried to do that the best I could and just got off to a slow start, which was disappointing. But I felt like I played some good golf on the back nine. Q. I know you don't want to make excuses, but it seemed like emotionally that match this morning with Lee took a lot out of you. As you said, you got off to a bit of a sluggish start in the afternoon. Even though you hit a lot of good shots on the back nine, 5‑under the last seven holes, do you think that the emotion of playing Lee and winning that match drained you a bit? RORY MCILROY: Yeah, it probably did. I think‑‑ and this is no disrespect to the other two guys in the other semifinals, Hunter and Mark, but it was almost like‑‑ to me it was like my final in a way. I really wanted to‑‑ that was the one I wanted all week and I got. And that's what I got myself up for. Yeah, maybe mentally and emotionally it did take a little bit out of me. But it still doesn't take away from the fact that Hunter played very, very solid golf. And even though I threw a few birdies and an eagle at him in the back nine, he still responded well and held on. I think during the course of the week, he had played the best golf and deserved to win. But maybe that match this morning did take a little bit out of me. Q. Is it still too close to it to figure out what more you might have done to get up for the match this afternoon? RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I mean, I don't know if I would have done anything differently. I just came in and had some lunch and warmed up, like I usually would do. Maybe the intensity wasn't quite as much as it was this morning going out. But, you know, that‑‑ I think that's a little understandable after going through a match like that, thinking about it all last night and this morning trying to‑‑ so, yeah, I don't think I could have done much different. Q. So knowing that that was a risk, what would you do differently the next time? RORY MCILROY: Oh, I don't think I'd do anything differently. Because if I didn't play with the same intensity in the morning I might not have been in the finals. I don't think I could have done anything else. Q. Just being so close, does this strengthen your resolve to get to No.1? And does it in any way reaffirm for the umpteenth time in your head that you're going to ultimately get there very soon? RORY MCILROY: Yeah, knowing that it's‑‑ I've got two events coming up, the Honda and Doral, you know, I just you want to keep putting good results up on the board, try to get a few wins. And if I can do that then ultimately get into the top of the World Rankings is hopefully inevitable, if I keep playing golf the way I am at the minute. For the time being, I think I can just put it out of my head somewhat and just try and focus on winning golf tournaments. Q. Can you just explain exactly why you were so emotionally heavily invested in that semifinal? Do you think winning that head‑to‑head match today with Lee will help stand you sometime in the future? RORY MCILROY: Yeah, it could do. I think it's just because I knew I needed to play really well to beat him. I knew I needed my best golf out there this morning to get through. Of course, I needed my best golf to win this final this afternoon, but I didn't really have as much time to think about that. I had a lot of time last night and going to bed to think about that match this morning. And that's the real reason why I wanted to win so badly was because I had a lot of time to think about it and I had a lot of time to think, well, I need to get through this one to get to the final to have a chance. So it was a big one for me this morning and it was nice to win. But ultimately I needed to win two matches today and I wasn't able to do that. Q. For the future, do you thinkit ‑‑ RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I hope myself and Lee have a lot of battles in the next few years. I think it would be great. I was really‑‑ I was looking forward to getting out there and going head‑to‑head because in my mind he isobviously one of the best players in the world. And he has been for the last couple of years. We had that little stretch in the mid‑2000s he wasn't playing that great. But in 1999, 2000 and 2001, he's been a great player for a long time. Yeah, of course, it was nice to beat him, but there's going to be times where he's going to beat me and I'm going to beat him. It was good‑‑ you get one win over him under my belt. Q. Do you think the old format was very well?  You played in semifinal on Saturday and you had a night to sleep on the emotion and then come out the next day? RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I think they changed that format last year for the first time, was it? To be honest, I think 36‑hole match play is a better format in general than the 18‑hole match play. But they just wanted to do things a little differently. I have no problem with that. Obviously I'd love if it was a 36‑hole final, and I'd only be going into the last 18 a couple down or whatever. 18‑hole match play is tough. You get off to a good start and I didn't do that today. Q. I was curious what you thought of the fans following right behind for the first time this year. Was that a little different? RORY MCILROY: It was okay. I'm sort of used to it to the Amateur days, playing match play and the crowds following on the fairways and stuff. I haven't experienced it for a few years. And it's great. It creates a good atmosphere, a good buzz out there. Yeah, I think it's good for the fans, as well. They can get a little closer to the action and I think they enjoy it. Q. Did anybody get too close? RORY MCILROY: No, no, I think it was good. I didn't really notice that anyone got too close. I think it was good. SCOTT CROCKETT: Thanks as always for coming in. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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