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SHELL HOUSTON OPENMarch 30, 2013Rory McIlroyHUMBLE, TEXAS Q. Thanks, Rory. With a round that started out with a lot of promise, what do you take away from a day that again had a little bit of everything? RORY MCILROY: It was good. I hit the ball really well. It's the best I've hit it on the golf course this week. So, I mean, I take a lot of positives from it. Obviously the finish wasn't what I wanted. Just some silly mistakes from rustiness, I guess. I think with a little more competitive play, I'll eradicate that and -- I'm happy. I hit it well. Q. You wanted some more reps this weekend. You obviously got two more rounds. Late decision for you to commit to San Antonio. What are your thoughts behind that? RORY MCILROY: Yeah, again, just a few more competitive rounds. That's all I need to eradicate some of these stupid mental errors out there. The more golf you play, you know, I guess the more savey you become, because you're playing more and everything. I think it's a good decision, and I'm obviously looking forward to getting a few more rounds under our belt going into Augusta. Q. How long were you thinking about it and when did you finally pull the trigger to commit? RORY MCILROY: It's funny, J.P. mentioned to it me after my round yesterday. I brushed it off. Then I was sort of mulling over it a little bit over lunch and texted him. I don't think it was a bad idea. So basically yesterday was the day that I thought about it and the day that I went ahead and did it. Q. Is your 71 indicative of the way you played today? RORY MCILROY: Not really. I was 4-under through 12. I had a 5-foot putt to go 5-under through 13 and 3-putted there. Didn't have the best of finishes, but I saw a lot of positives out there, I hit the ball really wet, the best I've hit it on the course this week and made me really happy with my game. I needed to eradicate those mistakes. Q. Phil Mickelson was saying how improved he is from day one this week. How about yourself? RORY MCILROY: Yeah. I think more just with committing my shots on the course and feeling more comfortable out there, you know, in competitive play. It's all well and good hitting it well on the range, but you got to go throughout and do it on the course, and I feel like I'm finally beginning to do that. Q. Next week you're going to play the Valero Texas Open. When did you decide to play next week and how did you come to that final decision? RORY MCILROY: Something I hadn't thought about until basically after I finished yesterday. J.P. was the one that mentioned it to me. Said, if you just play a few more rounds, I think you're going to be ready. I didn't really think about it too much and sat down, had some lunch, started to think about it and I texted him and said, I don't think this is a bad idea. Probably took me an hour or two to sort of think about it and decide about. Q. Just to clarify, your caddie is J.P.? RORY MCILROY: Yes. Q. Rory, you seem to be bubbling actually with the way that you played for much of that round today. RORY MCILROY: Yeah. Really happy with it. I hit the ball really well from tee to green, drove the ball much better, committed to -- I'm happy. I had a putt on the 13th green to be 5-under par for the day. Obviously it wasn't meant to be. Made a couple of silly irons coming in, but, you know, I think with a bit more competitive play, one round here to go this week and hopefully four more rounds next week, I'll be ready. I'm very, very happy with the signs that I've seen. Q. Technically has there been a click moment today in some regard? RORY MCILROY: No. I think more just working on the range last night and just trying to get a little -- a few key thoughts in my head before I pull the trigger on the course, which has helped, and it showed out there today. I hit some really good shots. Q.Talk about the last-minute decision, the decision to go to or stay in Texas for the final week before the Masters. What is the thinking there and any thoughts of possibly burnout by the time you get to Augusta if you get four big rounds in there? RORY MCILROY: This is my 13th competitive round this year. There's not any worry of burnout. No. I just feel like I'm playing well, I'm hitting the ball well. Everything feels good, my game. It's just about playing a bit more competitive course and getting a little sharper. I feel a little rusty out there at times. I think the more rounds I play, the better it will be for me going into Augusta. So it wasn't something I really thought about, but once it was mentioned to me yesterday, I happened to think about it. Q. From J.P.? RORY MCILROY: J.P. said it to me and we had a little discussion about it over lunch and ended up going for it . Q. But rearrangement of your trip to Haiti as a result. RORY MCILROY: Yeah. That was a bit of a disappointing thing. Today I make a few tough phone calls last night, obviously. I was -- that was one of the first things I thought about if I play next week. 89 hours of travel from Haiti isn't going to be the best preparation. UNICEF was great about it. I'm a big supporter of what they do all over the world. Hopefully I can make it up to them in some way. Q. In terms of the golf, how confident do you feel, you can potentially be heading to Augusta now that you've made the adjustments, game, mentally and schedule? RORY MCILROY: Yeah. As I had said, I'm happy with my game. Hopefully I show more positive signs out there tomorrow and have another competitive week under my belt next week going into Augusta. I'm happy and just a matter of going out there, eliminating mistakes, knowing I'm playing quality golf and making enough birdies. I have to just keep the stupid errors off my card and I'll be okay. Q. Obviously not the -- RORY MCILROY: Obviously not the finish I wanted. I showed a lot of really positive signs out there, and I loved to take it forward into tomorrow and also into next week. Ultimately into the Masters in a couple weeks's time. It's all moving in the right direction. I definitely feel like I played a lot better than the 71 on the scorecard suggests. So, you know, even though it wasn't my best round, scoring-wise, it was still a great one for me. Q. Seemed like the back-9 yesterday you found something. Have you found something here this week? RORY MCILROY: Yeah. I mean, it's just -- as I said yesterday, it was more a mental thing, maybe a couple of key thoughts before I pull the trigger out on the golf course. That was really it. Just committing to my shots a bit more, committing to my targets and sort of letting it go. Q. Rory, that driver at 12, is that the sign that your confidence in your club is back? RORY MCILROY: Yeah. It was a good drive. I was probably living a little close to the edge. Q. Pretty aggressive? RORY MCILROY: Yeah, it was. I guess I felt good. You feel good out there when you hit some good drives, you know, you sort of -- you've got some confidence in it and you take on a little bit more. Q. Rory, you spent a lot of time on the range working with your teacher after your round last couple of days. What are some of the things that you worked with? Is that confidence having him right there not talking to him on the phone but having him 3 feet away? RORY MCILROY: Yeah. More we're just trying to put a little pressure on myself on the range, so say okay, this is your target, you've got water on the right, just really putting yourself under pressure like you are on the golf course, and that's what I did all last couple of grand sessions I've had. And that's what I'll continue to do, because I feel like that's all I need. The shots are there, it's just about committing to them when I need to. Q. What about playing next week? Can you go through the decision-making process to play next week? RORY MCILROY: As I said there, after I signed my scorecard yesterday, J.P. mentioned it to me, said, I think four more rounds would be great for you. I said to him I didn't know the deadline -- I think he said it's 5:00 p.m. Okay. So let me think about it. I'm going to get some lunch. I thought about it, and I was sort of ran -- I had a few things going on next week. I was like sort of, if I play, it's going to be a busy week, I don't want to be too tired going to Augusta. So, I ended up thinking to myself, okay, let's just do for these next couple of weeks what's best for me, and what's best for me right now is competitive golf and playing rounds. It was a tough decision to make because I obviously committed to go to Haiti with UNICEF. That can be, if not rearranged, I go do something else. I would obviously love to do it. Right now I feel competitive golf is what I need and, you know, it was a good idea by J.P. and I think it will really help me next week going into Augusta. It's more out there hitting shots and committing to targets. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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