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THE HONDA CLASSICFebruary 27, 2014Rory McIlroyPALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA MARK STEVENS: Like to welcome Rory McIlroy, nice birthday present for your mom today, 63 for your mom, Rosey. If you want to talk about the round and then we'll have a few questions. RORY McILROY: Yeah, it was obviously a very good day. I started well with the birdie on 2 and on 3, I guess on tough golf courses like this, it's always good to get under par early. I guess to give you a little bit of a buffer, but also if you feel like you're playing well, you can start to chase a few more and try and get even more under par. A nice little stretch around the turn there, 10,11, 12, three really nice birdies there, and then nice to finish with a couple of birdies at the end. And I felt like I was in control of my ball all day. I hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of green and actually made quite a few putts, something you need to do here. It's a golf course you can't really, you can't fake it around here and you have to play well to shoot good scores and I was able to do that today. Q. Did you lay a few ghosts to rest out there and was it sweeter because of it? RORY McILROY: No, not really. It's not something I really thought about out there. You know, coming in this week, I knew that I was playing well and I just wanted to try and get off to a good start. I've been able to do that the first couple of stroke‑play tournaments this year where I've got off to fast starts and got myself into contention, haven't quite converted those in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, but wanted to try and do the same here and it was nice to do it, regardless of what happened last year or where it is, it's always nice to shoot a round like this and get yourself in the mix early. Q. That's three shots better than any round you had when you won here two years ago. Did it feel that way and was it the conditions? Just talk about that. RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think that the thing about that week when I won, I was very consistent, I would shoot a 4‑under, another 4‑under and maybe a 5‑under, whatever it was. So, yeah, I feel like I'm playing well enough to do something like that again. But as I said, I was in control of my ball all day. I didn't miss many fairways. I didn't miss many greens. Gave myself plenty of chances for birdies and I was able to take a few. Yeah, do I feel like I'm playing better than I did then, I couldn't really tell you. Don't really remember. But I feel like I'm playing well. Q. Talking about the turn there when you started clicking in, can you describe what it's like when it is starting to click, you roll a couple putts and you get the momentum snowballing a little bit. Can you talk about what that feels like as you go along? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I guess when you've got momentum with you, all the little things starting to your way, as well. Like I had a perfect number on 10 to get to that front left pin. It was fortunate that I held a big one putt like that on 11, and then again on 12, had a perfect number for a gap wedge. Yeah, and when you're playing well and when you are seeing shots like that, all you're thinking about is trying to get lower and lower under par. So that's sort of the feeling that you have. Q. How do you feel like the mental gymnastics this course has put you through in two years, you went from like one of the greatest performances, you move to No. 1, win the tournament and the following year, you had a very bad situation. Just want to see the dichotomy is sort of, you know, how does it affect you, if at all? RORY McILROY: It doesn't affect me at all. I think you know, as I alluded to at the start there, it's not like I was out there thinking about what had happened last year or what had happened the year before that when I won. It's a new tournament. It's on a tough golf course, and you know, I need to focus all my energy and thoughts into playing these 18 holes. There's not really‑‑ you can't really let any other thoughts creep into your mind because it is such a tough golf course and you need to be‑‑ you can't really lose concentration out here because you lose concentration on one of these holes on 15 or 17, and you end up, you make double‑bogey or triple‑bogey and you lose two or three shots. So you've got to sort of stay on point the whole time. Q. You've had some consistency, of course that you alluded to earlier, something that was kind of lacking last year, and when did things start to turn for you in terms of your swing; was it something in the off‑season during The Desert Swing or was there a moment when things started to fall into place a bit more? RORY McILROY: I think even before that to be honest. When I went and did the Asian Swing in October, November time, I felt like stuff was starting to click into place with my swing. I started well at the tournament in Shanghai, shot 65 and ended up finishing sixth. Had a Top‑5 in Dubai. Went down to Australia and won. So it was gradually getting better and better, and the work that I put in the off‑season has only just helped that and helped it along, and I've reached a point now where I'm very comfortable with everything in my game and my swing. Seeing shots the way I want to see them. You know, when I do that [] I feel like the scores are just a by‑product of all the hard work and making good swings. Q. How much time did you put in with Michael in terms of hours or that sort of thing, if you can maybe quantify it, in trying to get that consistency? RORY McILROY: Yeah, you know, a coach can tell you the perfect way to swing a golf club, but once it actually‑‑ once like that little light bulb in your head comes on where you start to get it as well, you start to own your own swing. Because someone can stand here and tell me what way, where to get the club, but once you understand it yourself and understand your feelings and understand what you need to do, then it's not until that point where you can become really comfortable with it. And I guess that was probably at the start of this year, at the start of January when I did all the work in Dubai, I started to feel like I really understood what I needed to do. Q. What were you telling Billy on 15 waiting on Adam to hit the drop shot? RORY McILROY: Same thing. Same thing. He just said, "It looks like you're swinging really well."  I said, yeah, "I'm feeling very comfortable with it."   I was just telling him a few things, what I got‑‑ Q. So you got interviewed on the golf course, too? RORY McILROY: Yeah. (Laughter). Q. Going back to last year, a lot of the theme of last year was just that you were not in control of your swing and your ball and emotions and stuff like that. All of that has changed now. Just wonder, during those dark moments or whatever you want to call it last year when you walked off the course or whatnot, did you wonder when you would get back to this point or how long you would get back to a point, where you had the control that you had. RORY McILROY: Golf's very‑‑ it's a very fickle game, because when you're on and you're playing the way I'm playing right now and feeling very comfortable with everything, you wonder how it ever felt so uncomfortable. And then when it feels so uncomfortable, you wonder how it ever felt so comfortable. And it's just a tiny thing that needs to click. As I said to Brian there, it's about understanding what you need to do. You can have a million people tell you how to swing a golf club but once you actually understand what you need to do to see the shots the way you want to, it doesn't really matter. So yeah, I mean, just‑‑ yeah, finding that consistency in my swing, obviously it gives me confidence and then when I have the confidence, I'm able to hit the shots that I can hit out there on the course. Q. Yesterday you talked about how happy you are to have a home here now, be settled. Is all this part and parcel of what's going on in your mind, seems like it's in a very good place right now. RORY McILROY: Yeah, I'm in a great place. I couldn't be happier. We've got a home here in Palm Beach. Personal life is great. Looking forward to getting married at some point in the future, and you know, I feel like if everything's settled off the course, then it helps me perform better on it. Yeah, I couldn't be in a better place right now. Q. You putted obviously really nicely today but there was a few nice par saves, as well; do you recall more bulletproof and like you can attack it a little bit more when you're putting well, and secondly, the work you did with Dave Stockton in Tucson, did that have an effect this week? Was it a follow‑on from that? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I'm sure it was. Whenever you feel comfortable and I feel like you're short game is sharp, you start to feel like you can maybe go at a few more pins and I guess not be as bothered if you hit a couple loose iron shots and miss greens. I made a good par save on 1, I was only going in with a wedge for my second shot. Made a great par save on 9. That really kept my momentum going into the back nine, and then right after that par save, I made three birdies in a row. So if you don't make that par save, maybe things would be different. Yeah, and the work I did with Dave last week in Tucson has definitely helped. Something that I got comfortable with pretty easily. It's something that we always try to keep a check on every once in awhile. Sometimes my right hand gets a little underneath and if it's strong, makes the putter sort of go up as soon as I hit it so at least with this slight change in grip, it let's the putter go down the line easier and can stay lower to the ground. So I putted well today and hopefully I can put like that the next three days, as well. MARK STEVENS: Thank you for your time, Rory. Good luck tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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