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THE IRISH OPENJune 26, 2013Rory McIlroyKILDARE, IRELAND STEVE TODD: Many thanks for joining us, I'm sure it's been a busy day for you already, but you made your first appearance in The Irish Open in 2005 and life's changed a little bit since then. Just give us your thoughts on how good it is to be back this week. RORY McILROY: Life has changed a little bit. I remember getting kicked out of bars after missing the cut on the Friday night here because I wasn't old enough to drink. Yeah, it's good to be back. I've got a lot of good memories from Carton because of coming down with GB&I and spending weekends here and stuff. First Irish Open obviously here. It's good to be back and it's great to be playing The Irish Open. I sort of came with the mind‑set the last couple years that I really just want to enjoy it and I guess enjoy the attention and the atmosphere that is created at an Irish Open, and not really putting myself under expectation and pressure but just go out and enjoy my golf and enjoy it on the course, and usually when I do that, usually play a little bit better, as well. Q. Obviously the Irish Open comes along at a point in the season which is very important between the U.S. Open and the British Open; at this point last year, you were struggling a little and you caught a wave which began in The Irish Open. Do you feel you can catch the same wave this year? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I do. I think my game is a lot closer this year than it was last year. Yeah, you're right, I sort of turned it around a little bit. I got a Top‑10 here, or at Portrush last year, and I guess that gives me a little bit of a confidence boost going into the summer. I keep saying it, it's not far away. My bad shots are just a little worse than I want them to be, and my good shots there are and I'm hitting a lot of those, but sometimes the bad shots are just a little bit too destructive. If I can eliminate those shots from my game, I'll have made some big strides. Q. Have you put your finger on it? Michael Bannon is your coach since you were a young boy and he knows every element of your swing; have you gone through it piece by piece and determined what it is or is there an element of mental frustration involved? RORY McILROY: No, it's more where I'm getting the club in the delivery position. Club is getting a little outside the plane or on top of the plane, and swinging a little bit too far left at impact with an open clubface, so that shot to the right is obviously something that we are trying to eliminate. It's something you just have to work on and keep working on it and keep in your head. I guess just having that thought in your head of what you need to do in your swing. Sometimes it's not great having to play with a swing thought all the time but that's just something you need to do to get out of a bad habit. Q. Having seen the course in the Pro‑Am, Carton House, what does it do for you the golf course that it's in right now and the condition you'll be playing in weather‑wise? RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's a good forecast, which is nice. Maybe forecast a few showers on Thursday and Saturday I think. I remember it used to be much longer, I didn't hit the ball far back then. I hit the ball a bit further now. But there's a lot of your wedges and short irons into par 4s. You can reach all the par 5s. The par3s are pretty tough here, but I think you're going to have to go quite a few shots under par here if you're going to want a chance to win. It's a good course. I think it sets up well. It's quite generous off the tee. The rough isn't too penal this year. I guess if you can drive the ball relatively well, you're going to have a chances to make birdies. Q. Graeme describes The Irish Open as being on his golfing bucket list, as something he has to do and wants to do; is it the same position for you? RORY McILROY: I guess so. I mean, it's always nice to win your National Open and winning in front of your home fans I guess, in front of the people that support you the most. Yeah, I'd be very disappointed if I finished my career and I didn't win an Irish Open, put it that way. Q. What would you have to do the rest of the year to consider the year a success? What do you still want to do? RORY McILROY: The biggest thing, there's two Majors left. My major record this year is much better than it was at this time last year, but still obviously not very good. I guess get into contention there, at The Open and the PGA. I can still contend for The Race to Dubai. I can still content for the FedExCup title. Still a lot of things are possible. I guess the big thing for me is wanting to get into contention week‑in, week‑out, and just finding that consistency in my game again. Q. There was plenty of scrutiny as there always is with you on the club throwing and the club bending and everything, is that a sign of frustration boiling over and the reaction? RORY McILROY: Yeah, the club throw, I hit the fairway on the fifth hole and had to play it left‑handed. That was a bit‑‑ I mean, it was unlucky; it was frustration, whatever you want to call it. And then on 11 I hit my tee shot in the water and dropped and hit my third shot in the water. Yeah, obviously it was just frustration. I guess the U.S. Open, as well, it's a course where you feel like you can do well and you can shoot a score, but it just doesn't allow you. Yeah, I just got frustrated. Definitely wasn't the right thing to do. I wouldn't recommend anyone or anyone watching on TV or any kids to start throwing their clubs or bending their 9‑irons. But 9‑iron is intact and got a new shaft this week and it's ready to go. Q. In that instance, Rory, you wouldn't be human if you don't show disappointment occasionally, would you? RORY McILROY: No, of course not. I guess there's other ways to show disappointment. Taking it out on your golf clubs probably isn't the right way to do it. Yeah, of course everybody is going to get frustrated or angry or disappointed in a bad shot and obviously I'm no different. Yeah, it doesn't really set a good example I guess for people watching me and maybe trying to emulate what I'm doing. Q. You mentioned the contrast between your life back in 2005; is there a nice sort of anecdote that you can remember from those days that perhaps illustrate the change with now? And are you suffering from a cold or something? RORY McILROY: Yeah, hayfever, just hayfever. Not really, I guess I played really well here the first day. I shot 71 and was in the Top‑10. I shot 71, 81, missed the cut. I remember I was ahead of Monty that day, for some reason. Yeah, life‑‑ I don't know, obviously whenever you come here and you're at The Irish Open, you get treated very well. I walked into my hotel room last night and it was a huge, ridiculous, actually, just stuff like that. A bit different than eight years ago. Q. What's the biggest thing that you have to deal with this week? RORY McILROY: I guess expectation and wanting to do so well because you're playing in front of these people and these fans. I guess it's managing that and trying to enjoy the attention and enjoy the spotlight that sort of is on you this week. That's something that was‑‑ that's what I've tried to do the last couple years is just try to embrace the whole week and enjoy it. You don't get a chance to come back here very often and play, so it's nice to be able to do it and enjoy it while you do it. Q. Is there a tournament that you can go to these days where there's no expectations from you and you can get away from the spotlight? RORY McILROY: I guess it's just a little different here, because I guess you don't feel so much that people necessarily want you to win at any other tournament. Of course you have your fans and people that come to watch you and support you, but here, like everyone lives every shot with you and you make a birdie and there's a huge roar and if you miss a putt, you can hear the disappointment in the crowd. I guess that is something that sort of‑‑ they sort of live every shot with you, which is a little different here. Q. Just listening to Paul McGinley and Pádraig Harrington yesterday, what you mentioned earlier about consistency and being in contention week‑in, week‑out, they suggested perhaps that maybe it might be better just to accept that you're not that type of player; that you're more of an up‑and‑down player that when he's on, he's going to win and when he's not on, he's going to have to accept it. Do you think maybe a change in attitude in your own expectations might help you more? RORY McILROY: No, not really. I wouldn't say that I'm not‑‑ I certainly agree with them; I think it's much better to win and be up‑and‑down in that way. I definitely wouldn't want to finish 30th every week. Being in contention and giving yourself chances to win tournaments, that's not‑‑ I know I can play consistently at a high level. I know that. It's just a matter of bringing it out of myself. I went through periods where I finished in the top five in like ten or 12 events and stuff like that, and that's the sort of golf that I want to get back to. Of course I would rather win and miss five cuts and win again than finish 30th every week, of course. But I think that I've got the game and I'm a good enough player to give my myself chances to win week‑in, week‑out. Q. Do you think your off‑course life is a bigger distraction to others? RORY McILROY: I think so, yeah. I'm very happy with my life and I'm very happy with everything. Right now, I wouldn't want it any other way. Q. Have you any updates on the rumours circling that your management company in the future‑‑ RORY McILROY: No, I can't really comment on that. Q. How do you manage the expectations of your countrymen this week so that you can use that support as an advantage and not let it suffocate you? RORY McILROY: Yeah, that's actually a good word. That's something I've felt in a couple of Irish Opens is suffocated and having that burden and that pressure and that expectation. I think as I said earlier, you try to use it‑‑ yeah, it's hard. It's much better having fans for you and really wanting you to do well than people rooting against you, so it's a great privilege to have. The best thing that I can do this week is go out and enjoy myself, smile, and try and play the best that I can and show everyone how much I appreciate their support. Q. When you talk about embracing things, when you stand on the 17th tee, particularly over the weekend, will you be like Bubba or Ian Poulter and encourage the crowd to make noise while you're hitting your tee shot or would you prefer to focus? RORY McILROY: I would prefer to focus to be honest (chuckling). Yeah, it's going to get loud there at the weekend, of course. But I'm sure over your shot people are going to quiet down a little bit. I think it will create a great atmosphere for the last couple of holes. Q. Saying about how happy you are with your life, do you mean you've got it rightly balanced now between your attention to golf and your attention to being a human being? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think so. I think you can never‑‑ I don't think it's something you really focus on. You just play golf, you life your life and whenever you at tournaments, you try to do the best that you can. Yeah, I think at the minute, I've got a really nice balance, and as I said, I'm in a good place and I'm very happy with everything. Q. Going to Wimbledon at the start of the week‑‑ are there elements of that environment that are beneficial to you, do you think? RORY McILROY: I'm not really sure. I guess I'm around it so much these days. It's funny, tennis is similar to golf in a lot of ways but also very different. I guess it would be a little different if you were playing match play every week or we played against the guys all the time, but we sort of don't. Yeah, I just like it because it gets me away from this in a way; it gets me away from my normal environment and it's something that I feel like I can go and blend into the background a little bit and not be the center of attention, which is a nice thing. Q. Something else Paul said yesterday was that The Ryder Cup was a real eye opener for him, because you were virtually a rock star in America these days. How much fun was it for you, and do you think you've finally got to where you can shut off? RORY McILROY: Shut off, just as‑‑ Q. The distractions, the attention you're getting. RORY McILROY: I guess it's just something that you learn to live with. It's part of life, and as I said before, it's a privilege.  It's a great thing to have. It's great that you have all this attention. It's what you want to do. It's what you dream of being when you're a kid and you're making putts to win The Open when you're six years old on the local putting green. It's what you want to do; it's what you want to be. Of course, you never really think of all this stuff that happens that goes on outside the golf, but yeah, I mean, it's a dream to be doing what I'm do, and when I'm doing it, I might as well enjoy it. Q. You've got the nearest bedroom to the first tee Saturday morning, half ten, Lions match, finishing upat maybe twelve o'clock, what time do you think you can squeeze out practise and could you calculate from there, do you think you need to be in the Top‑10 in the Saturday morning to get the full Lions game in? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think it could go either one of two ways: I need to tee off first on Saturday morning, which isn't a good thing, or I need to tee off last. Yeah, if the second test is anything like the first, it will be another exciting one. Q. Have you played Muirfield? RORY McILROY: No, I haven't, actually. I met Ernie on Monday at Wimbledon. He was actually watching Caroline's match, which was pretty cool. He said that he had been up there and he said the rough was like waist‑high; he said it was ridiculous. But I haven't been up there yet. I'm going to go up the week before and spend a couple of days, and then I'll basically be there the weekend before, as well. So I'll spend a bit of time there and get to know the place and maybe play a bit of links golf. Q. You've never been there before? RORY McILROY: No, I've never been. Q. From what you know about it, it's obviously got the reputation of being the fairest and the best. RORY McILROY: I know the reputation that it has; that maybe it's the fairest course in The Open rotation or maybe the best in terms of the layout. I don't know it at all, so it's going to be a new course for me and a new challenge. Q. Dame Mary Peters said she counts herself among your fans. Can you just talk about what that's like to have someone who is so celebrated in her own right follow you like that, and when did you sort of learn her history? RORY McILROY: I think just growing up and not even playing sport in Northern Ireland, but just going to school in Northern Ireland, you knew Mary Peters and you knew what she had done and what she had achieved. Yes, in a way, when you talk of Northern Irish sporting greats, like George Best, Mary Peter, it's true‑‑ yeah, it's great to be mentioned alongside them. And what I said before, as long as I try and set a good example and give people who look up to me and try to emulate what I have done; and what people have tried to emulate what Mary has done or what George Best has doneor ‑‑ Eddie Irvine. There's been a lot of Northern Irish sporting greats, and it's just nice to sort of be mentioned alongside them. STEVE TODD: Thanks for joining us, best of luck this week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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