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May 3, 2014
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA
Q. Rory, well played out there, got off to a hot start, 5‑under par, just the one bogey on the day at 9 but played well.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I did. I played well. Putted much better. I did some work on the putting green last night after I played, and it worked well for me again today. I think I figured out what I needed to do out there, and, you know, it was a really solid round of golf and it gets me back into the tournament.
Q. Was that the big key between yesterday and today?
RORY McILROY: I think so, yeah, the putting for sure and I put my ball‑‑ like I didn't hit as many loose shots as I did yesterday. I had a couple that put me in trouble yesterday and it was much better today. Anytime that I give myself a chance for birdie, the putt either went or looked like it was going in.
Q. Having won here before helps you when you get on the golf course.
RORY McILROY: It does, yeah, I feel very comfortable here. Obviously played very well here before, shot some low numbers, and I think it's going to take something similar tomorrow to get the win, but at least I've given myself a chance going into tomorrow.
Q. 65 is a great score. How did the golf course play in general out there this morning?
RORY McILROY: It was funny. The easier holes played easier, because they were downwind; they moved a couple of tees forward, but the hard holes played tough. 18 was into the wind, 9 was into the wind, 4 was into the wind, so the long par 4s were playing very tough.
It's going to be‑‑ it's going to be tricky this afternoon. I'm not sure‑‑ it all depends on how many guys go to the top of the leaderboard and see where I stand at the end of the day today.
Q. Rory, you went to the putting green to work on your putting. Was that the big difference?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it was, I figured a few things out on the putting green last night and tried to take it to the course today and really trust it, just not really care if the ball went in the hole be or not but trust what I was doing and it worked. I putted really nicely, held some nice putts, held the putts that I needed to make and there you go. 11‑shot difference.
Q. We talked about this after your round yesterday making the cut on the number, 10 shots back just like you did at 2010. You shot 66 on Saturday; you shoot 65 today. Did this bring back memories for you?
RORY McILROY: It does, yeah, and I remember that year I bogeyed 18 on the Saturday to shoot 66, so I had a putt on 18 to go one better, so that's why I gave it a fist pump; I was sort of thinking of that. But, yeah, it depends on where the guys are at the end of today. If I'm still within four or five shots going into tomorrow, I think I'll have a chance. We'll see what happens.
Q. On that note, what is the difference in mentality to get back into the tournament as you did today compared to trying to win the tournament on Sunday?
RORY McILROY: It's a very different mentality, I think. You're right there, second or third group went Saturday morning and nothing to lose. I hit a few more drivers out there, when I would have hit fairway woods the first couple of days, and just really aggressive, trying to make as many birdies as you can and get back into the tournament, and I was able to do that today. Tomorrow I will probably be chasing again so it will probably be the same thing but once you get yourself in the mix and you're leading or co‑leading, it becomes a little different. Obviously you're still tying to make birdies but at the same time trying to limit the mistakes.
So maybe play a little more cautiously, but it's nice to go out on a Saturday morning and just give it your all and shoot a low one.
Q. Old familiar feelings coming back on a Saturday? Rolling a 65 after making the cut on the number?
RORY McILROY: I don't want to get to used to that at this tournament. I would rather be up there after two days, but, yeah, it was good. I played really well, played solid tee‑to‑green, but the difference was the putting. I held putts. I worked for 45 minutes to an hour on the putting green yesterday after I got done with my round and media and stuff and I just tried to take what I was doing there on to the course and trust it and not really care if the ball was going in or not going in, and I had to trust what I was doing. It seemed to work. Try and keep that going.
Q. You mentioned all the work on the putting green, what you told us on Wednesday, you were having alignment issues, bend over the ball. Was that creeping back in?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I struggled to trust it. Whenever I lined the ball up and the line is aiming, I know it's correct but when I get over it doesn't feel like where it should be, if you know what I mean.  And especially I struggle with the left to right putts, so I had a lot of left to right putts last night and just trying to, you know, train my eyes into seeing what it should be, you know, so‑‑ but it was good last night and I trusted it out there today and it worked.
Q. Did you change anything with the setup or more mental practice?
RORY McILROY: It was more‑‑ it's more just eye line, more than anything else.
That was really it. You know, where I feel I'm aiming and where I'm aiming are two different things at the minute, so it's a matter of doing the reps and doing more practice until it becomes second nature, I guess.
Q. Looked like you were extra diligent out there lining up your ball and marking it and lining it up. Was that part of it?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, that's something that I've worked on the last couple of weeks coming into this tournament, starting to line the ball up again and it seems to work. It sorta takes one element out of it. Obviously your putting is about line and speed, but if you can get the line right all you need to worry about is the speed then, so just trying to make it easier for myself.
Q. What goes through your mind when something like 16 happens to you?
RORY McILROY: I mean, nothing really. It was a great shot, you know, and maybe a little unfortunate but I didn't make birdie there, but if I keep hitting wedge shots like that I'm not going to complain.
Q. On 18 you have to make the up and down to save the round and keep you at 65. Obviously the greens are tricky. What were you seeing in that chip shot to make par?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's a tricky shot because you're on a uphill lie, and it was sort of‑‑ it was quite grassy and dense so I needed to hit it hard enough to not leave it 20 feet short so maybe give it extra at the bottom, and it went 10 feet by, but it was nice to hole that putt at the end and a nice way to finish the run.
Q. Now you look ahead to the weekend and from the back of the field, now you're in the mix.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, in the mix, depends what the guys are going to do this afternoon, but I'll enjoy a nice afternoon, and usually ‑‑ there is a big soccer match going on back in England pretty soon, so I'll watch that and looking forward to the Mayweather fight tonight and just relax and get ready for tomorrow afternoon.
Q. Do you see similarities to four years ago? Making the cut on the number then‑‑
RORY McILROY: Yeah, of course, it's the exact same. I was 1‑over, the lead was 9‑under, I shot one less today, so I might not need the 62 that I shot in 2010 but I'll take it.
Q. That year did you go out on Sunday thinking, just, you know, the 62 or low number like that was possible?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, Billy Mayfair was leading and he shot even par on Saturday, and I went from 1 over to 5‑under and there was a lead of 9‑under, so there was quite a few guys between myself and the lead.
I got off to a very good start, 4‑under through 9 and that got me tied for the lead, and then all of the sudden you start to think about it. I set myself a target coming in and reached that and went beyond that and ended up winning the tournament.
Q. And Angel Cabrera was in the mix then too, wasn't he?
RORY McILROY: He was, yep, I think he was playing in the last group, might have been with Phil.
Q. Did you set a target score today?
RORY McILROY: No, I was just trying to go as low as I could.
THE MODERATOR: Rory, thank you. Appreciate it.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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