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BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIPMay 25, 2014Rory McIlroyVIRGINIA WATER, ENGLAND MICHAEL GIBBONS: Another quiet week in the life of Rory McIlroy. Come on then, been a nice day for you, hasn't it. RORY McILROY: It has. It's been a great day. Going out today, seven shots behind, I didn't really expect to be in this position. You know, I thought, you know, Thomas was playing very well. I thought it would have to be something really spectacular to catch him, but walking off the 11th tee, I looked back at the scoreboard, and I saw that he made a triple‑bogey on 6 and all of a sudden I was only two behind. So you know, I thought I had a chance here; I had a few chances coming up on the back nine, three par 5s. You know, I just set myself a number. Well, JP and I, sort of walking down 11, said, "Let's get to 15."  Obviously didn't need to get to 15. 14 was good enough. But yeah, just a great day. Not an event that I would have envisioned winning a few weeks ago, or obviously at the start of the week. I'm just sitting here sort of‑‑ yeah. But I played well all week. I thought my short game was really good today when it needed to be. Converted my chances when I got them, and yeah, it's great. It feels great to win on The European Tour again. It's been since Dubai 2012, so, you know, I guess 18 months, just over 18 months. So it's nice to win again, and it's a great event to win obviously, and you know, get that latest win on The European Tour, the Flagship Event here at Wentworth. Yeah, it's been a great day, and obviously a great end to the week. MICHAEL GIBBONS: And just quickly, your actual round obviously got going with the eagle on 4 and you went from there. RORY McILROY: Yeah, I was even par through three, which was my best start to the first three holes this week. I was either 1‑ or 2‑over going down the fourth hole usually, and navigated my way through the first three holes at even par. And then eagled 4, which was a bonus. It looked like the putt was going to miss three inches left and all of a sudden it gets blown back into the hole. So you sort of know it's your day whenever things like that are happening. Started with the eagle on 4. Bogeyed 6, but it was really good to bounce back with a birdie on 7. Had a chance on 8 and didn't do it and again on 9. You know, that was the only bad putt I think I hit all day. Just didn't really trust what I read and didn't make a great stroke. But again, bounced back with the chip‑in on 10, my short game again, and then took advantage of the holes that I needed to, coming in, the par 5s, and bonus birdie on 13, as well. It's not really a hole that you expect to birdie out there. It's one of the tougher ones but was able to make birdie there, too. Coming down the stretch, my short game really saved me. I hit a terrible tee shot on 14, but great chip shot, got that up‑and‑down. And then three up‑and‑downs on 16, 17 and 18, I think I got a little unlucky with my second shot on 16, spinning back off the green, but chipped it up there to about four feet and held that. And then obviously the two up‑and‑downs on the last two holes which sort of sealed the deal for me. Yeah, 66 I don't think is my lowest round around here, but it's definitely one of the lowest. Yeah, just seemed like everything was sort of under control today and you know, it was nice to get the job done. Q. Everyone would assume that when there's stuff going on in people's lives it would have some negative impact in their professional life, and for you actually seems the opposite. Can you explain that? RORY McILROY: I guess when I got inside the ropes this week, it was a little bit of a release. I was on my own and doing what I do best, which is playing golf, and that sort of gave me four or five hours of serenity or sanctuary or whatever you want to call it; just focusing on the job at hand which was to play golf and get the ball in the hole in the lowest number of shots possible. Yeah, I can't explain it. It's obviously been a week of very mixed emotions, but I'm sitting here looking at this trophy going, how the hell‑‑ how did it happen this week (shrugs shoulders) but it did (laughter). A great way to end the week obviously. Q. You might have been thought to be in the camp of those players who didn't quite get Wentworth or didn't seem to suit their eye. Obviously that's changed this week. Where do you think the change might have come? RORY McILROY: The rain. With it being so soft, it played a lot differently. Played into my hands. Played longer. Balls were bouncing off fairways into rough. You weren't getting big bounces on greens. You didn't have to try to play from front edges. You could play really sort of aggressive target golf out there, which isn't usually the style of golf that you need around Wentworth. But with the rain this week, that's what it turned into. Q. Tell me if I'm wrong, but your celebrations seemed quite muted. Is that because what you talked about, mixed emotions? RORY McILROY: Yeah, yeah, it was. You know, it was that, and you know, I didn't know if I had won at that point or not yet. But it was definitely both. Yeah, I mean, I was asked in an interview earlier how do you feel, and I said, "I don't know. I don't know how I feel." I feel happy that I've won obviously. Yeah, it's been a weird week. Q. How are you going to celebrate the victory? RORY McILROY: I'm going to go home and see my Mum. I haven't seen my Mum in a few weeks, so I'm going to head back to Belfast tonight and see her. Then I'm heading to the States tomorrow. I'm playing the Memorial next week. Yeah, maybe a few friends will come around to my parents house or whatever and we'll have a few drinks, but back on a plane tomorrow and back at it and get ready for the next tournament. Q. Amongst all the stats we've seen from your win, this is your first win on European soil, did you realise? RORY McILROY: Yeah, we were talking about it. It's my first win in Continental Europe and my first win in U.K. and Ireland as a pro. Strange to think about all my European Tour wins have come in either the States or Dubai or China or Hong Kong, wherever it is. It's nice to get one; it's nice to get one here. Q. You mentioned in the TV interview that you had had a string of Top‑10s but you wanted to get a win in before the U.S. Open. What does that do for your confidence going to Pinehurst? RORY McILROY: It does a lot. I knew I was playing well coming in here, but I think I alluded to the fact that at Sawgrass, Top‑10s are great, but they are not really what I'm looking for. And I knew I was coming in here playing well, and that's why I came into this tournament the last couple of years, struggling with my game a little bit and missed the cut and get frustrated. I was excited to come here again, and I felt like my game is in good shape; and coming back to Europe, I feel like I can contend. I was looking forward to this week in that regard. It does my confidence a world of good. Not knowing that I'm‑‑ I know that I'm playing well, but being able to get the job done under pressure and when I need to, I think that's the most pleasing thing about this week. Q. Given the turbulent nature at the start of the week, where does this victory rank compared to, say, the majors and other wins? RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's different. I think the win at the end of last year in Australia sort of stopped all the questions about equipment and about struggling and slump and all this stuff. I think this victory here, against a great field, one of the best fields of the year, especially in Europe; it sort of cements that, and shows where my game is and I'm on the right track again. You know, hopefully it won't be long before I'm contending in majors and having a chance to win those again. I guess it just validates all the hard work and everything that I've put in this year. Q. As well as you played today, do you feel the stars aligned a little bit for you? RORY McILROY: Definitely. You know, with everything that happened; with Thomas and Luke making mistakes on the front nine, and even Shane making a few bogeys coming in, or the double on 13 and the bogey on 15. I just seemed to be cruising along and it seemed like it was sort of meant to be in some strange way. Q. Coming back to Pinehurst, can you give us your read on Pinehurst? How do you think it suits your game? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I can only go on what I've read and what I've heard about Pinehurst because I've never been there. No rough for a U.S. Open is going to be very different. I hear it's going to be a long, long golf course, which I'm looking forward to. You know, I don't mind that at all, getting driver in the hand, and a long golf course, it would suit me. And obviously the greens are very tricky at Pinehurst, a lot of run‑offs and slopes. I think you're going to have to have everything there. Even without seeing the golf course, I don't think it's going to be a course that's going to suit one type of player or another. You're obviously going to have to be pretty long off the tee, but most of the guys are these days. Most of the guys can get it out there. So it will just be about second shots, and when you miss greens, being‑‑ I think you'll have to be very imaginative around the greens and you'll have to bump it into the hills and run it up, and some guys might try and fly it up on top of the greens. It will be interesting to see; I'm going to go and take a look at it after the Memorial Tournament in a couple week's time. So I'll be able to give you a better answer to that question then. Q. This will go a long way to cementing your place in The European Team, which I'm sure Paul McGinley will be pleased about. RORY McILROY: Yeah, I was speaking to Paul yesterday just before I went out to play, just talking about pairings and what he's thinking. Sounded like the way he was talking, even without this win, sounded like I was going to be on the team (smiling) (laughter). Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. We don't get a chance to come back and play in the U.K. and Ireland very often. It's going to be great. I think I'm pretty much cemented on the team now, and looking forward to that. Q. You had some ways to catch up; did you have a number in mind before you went out? RORY McILROY: Not really‑‑ I guess I did. I thought Thomas was on 15, and before getting to the course, I thought it would take something like a 62 or a 63. But then when I when I got here and saw how windy it was, I thought if Thomas could shoot something around 70, it would be a really good score going out with a big lead. I didn't really have a number in mind going out on the course, because you never know what can happen, especially it was tricky with the wind. But going down the back nine and seeing where everyone was, I had that target of 15 in my head. Obviously didn't quite need to get to that point, but I think it's always good when you start‑‑ if you're in the back nine and you're in contention, and you're in the mix, I think it's always good to set yourself a target and really just worry about that, because it means you don't worry about anyone else and you don't worry about what the other guys are doing. If you set yourself a target and get do it, more times than not you're going to end up winning. Q. You said out there that if anyone else is going to win it, you would have loved Shane Lowry to win it. You go so far back with him, played on amateur teams together; could you tell us what you like about Shane Lowry and what makes him special, and how far do you think he can go as a golfer? RORY McILROY: Yeah, I did say‑‑ Shane hasn't had the best of years this year. He's struggled a little bit but I know that he's been working hard on his game and I know this it's very close. So that's why I was happy to see him do well this week. It just seemed like it was just a couple of putts here or there or a couple of loose shots, and it wasn't anything really wrong with his game. So it was good to see him do well this week. As a guy, he seems very comfortable in his own skin. He is who he is, and he's still just one of the lads. He still has his friends from back home, same friends that I grew up playing amateur golf with, too. And yeah, he's a real like salt‑of‑the‑earth type. He comes from a great family. His mom and dad are great people. He's just a really nice, general June guy. Q. You said in April that the game was just waiting for somebody, for one of the best players to stand up and take it by the scruff of the next. Do you feel this is a platform to do that sort of thing? RORY McILROY: I hope so. I definitely hope so. I think it's the start of something. I could feel my game sort of bubbling and it was getting there. A win‑‑ as I said earlier, a win validates that. Yeah, I think the game is waiting for one guy or one or two guys or whatever just to kick on. I stand by that comment; that I'd like to be that guy, and I'd like to think that this is a springboard to doing something like that. You know, there's still three Majors to play this year, a lot of golf left, a lot of big tournaments to try and win. So even though we're nearly halfway through the season, I feel like mine's just beginning. MICHAEL GIBBONS: Rory, many congratulations. Well done. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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