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THE IRISH OPENJune 29, 2012Rory McIlroyPORTRUSH, NORTHERN IRELAND RORY McILROY: Yeah, felt okay. Feel like I played pretty solid out there. Probably could have holed a few more putts if I'm honest but just struggling a little bit with the speed of the greens there.  A little bit slower than what we are used to. But, overall, it was a decent round, and something to build on for the weekend. Q. Other than the putting greens being a little slower, what's the most difficult aspect of conditions like that? RORY McILROY: I think just a lot of crosswinds, a lot of tee shots where you're having to be on the down one side of the fairway or the other. That's difficult. If you don't drive it on the fairway, it's hard to get it close to the pins from the rough. So yeah, still, even though the conditions are not as good as they were yesterday, it's still pretty scorable. Q. How do you become better playing in windy conditions? RORY McILROY: Just by playing in it. I don't think there's any other way and just accept that the conditions you're playing in are the conditions that you get for that day, and you have to just get on with it and not complain about it or moan about it. That's something I might have done in the past. Q. You're going to have some ground to make up on the leaders over the weekend. How do you approach it? Is this a golf course you can be more aggressive or take it as it comes? RORY McILROY: I think you can be more aggressive. All depends on the conditions for the day. Not sure what the forecast is like for the weekend. If I'm five or six or seven behind going into the weekend, I have to go out there and not think about what they are doing and just try to push a low one this afternoon. Q. How will you spend the afternoon? RORY McILROY: Probably going to drive back to Belfast and stay there. Might go see a movie at the cinema tonight or something like that, but keep it very low‑key. Q. You're just behind the leading bunch going into the weekend, how difficult was today's round? RORY McILROY: It was pretty good, pretty solid. I didn't do much round. Felt like I could have taken a few more of my chances for birdies, but overall it was a decent round of golf and definitely something to build on for the weekend. Q. You were out in a bit of wind and rain. Was it much tougher than yesterday? RORY McILROY: A little tougher. I still think we got a good bit of wind yesterday. We got the majority of the round was without, so that was nice. It was still playing‑‑ it wasn't as easy as it might have been yesterday but there was still a few birdies to be had out there. Q. With it being the Irish Open, does it add something extra to the adrenaline of the occasion for you? RORY McILROY: For sure, it definitely gets me a little more up for it. As I said yesterday, it's just good to be here and it's just a privilege to play in front of such great crowds. Hopefully I can have a great weekend. Q. What are your hopes for tomorrow? Obviously you'll be going out quite early. What kind of score do you think you might need to get really into contention? RORY McILROY: To get into contention, I'm going to need something around 65, 64. But I know that I've played well and shot a low score or low scores here before, so hopefully I can do it again. Q. The way you're hitting the ball this week, do you think you have that in you? RORY McILROY: Definitely. I'm hitting a lot of greens. If I can hit as many greens and just take a few more of my chances for birdies, I can turn a 69 into a 65 very quickly. I've made up ground like that before but I know I'll need two really good days to catch up. Q. You've shot 61 around here; will it take something low tomorrow? RORY McILROY: Not sure if it will take something as low as a 61, but if I can get myself into contention with a 65 or something like that, then that would be a great score and get me right in there for Sunday. Q. So many crowds following you around, so much expectation; have you enjoyed this or have you found a little bit of pressure this week? RORY McILROY: I've really enjoyed it. I said yesterday, the last couple of years, I've sort of felt it as a bit of burden with the weight of expectation. But this year I'm just trying to embrace it and accept it, and it's great. And to have so many people out there wanting you to hole every putt and hit great shots, it's a nice feeling. Q. It's been a difficult few weeks for you in terms of making cuts; is the swing coming around? RORY McILROY: For sure. I feel like I've made a lot of progress the last couple weeks. You know, I just have to keep working at it and keep trying to improve. But you know, it's definitely back on the right track. It's a lot better than it was a few weeks ago. Q. How good is it to have your girlfriend here? RORY McILROY: I think we all wish she was still over there but it's great to have her here and great to spend some time with her. Q. 5‑under, not a bad place to be halfway. RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's not too bad. I feel like I played pretty well out there again today. The last two days have been solid, the best ball‑striking rounds I've played in a while to be honest. So, yeah, it was good. I probably could have taken a few more of my chances for birdies, but I am where I am and I know I need to go out there tomorrow and shoot a low one to get myself in contention. I struggled a little bit with the speed of the greens this week, because we are not used to playing on greens this slow. But still they are great. It's a great surface and they roll very well. It's just I'm having a hard time getting the ball to the hole. I think it's just a little commitment and putting a positive stroke on it and at least getting it to the hole to give it a chance. Q. Your game seems to be getting on track again? RORY McILROY: It is. The last two days have been good. I've struck the ball nicely and I've seen a lot of positive signs, which will give me confidence not just for the weekend but for the few weeks ahead. Q. Conditions, what were they like? Winds might be picking up this afternoon. RORY McILROY: Yeah, I hope the forecast is as bad as they say to be honest. It was okay for the majority of the round, we stayed dry, and the winds were tough enough but nothing we can't handle. But yeah, I'll see where I lie at the end of the day and know I need to go out and play some good golf tomorrow. Q. More massive crowds tomorrow; at the halfway point, how would you sum it up so far, the Irish Open? RORY McILROY: It's incredible. It's just a privilege to play in front of so many people and such great crowds. They want you to hole every putt. It's a great feeling. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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