Champion’s press conference: McIlroy is hoping there are a few more Majors in his closet before his career ends
On being a role model . . .
I realise that every time my face is on TV or I’m playing in a tournament that I am a role model for a lot of people and a lot of kids do look up to me. I try to do my best in that regard and put myself across as honestly and as modestly as possible. Some can view it as a big responsibility, but I think if you just go about your life and live it normally and live it the way you always would, I think everything’s okay. But you know, it’s a huge honour to be put in that position to have an effect on so many people’s lives, it’s a nice feeling.
On feeling the pressure after his breakthrough Major win in the US Open and his attempts to follow up on that victory . . .
I think I made it very clear that I wasn’t too happy with how I’ve performed in the Majors since the US Open. I didn’t really contend. Wednesday, I just talked about giving myself a chance and to be honest, that’s all I wanted to do. I feel these days when I give myself a chance to win one of these big tournaments, I can draw on the memories of Augusta, of Congressional, and now of today, and know what I did out there and know what to do again . . . there’s quite a bit of relief to get the second one out of the way.
On what was going through his mind during the final round . . .
I didn’t allow myself to think about it until the 18th. I said, ‘all right, I still have a long way to go. I still have to keep in the present, keep hitting my shots’. I allowed myself the luxury of walking up 18 knowing that I was going to win. I enjoyed the moment, just let it all sink in . . . I was a little frustrated with how I was playing earlier on in the year, but a few people in this room were probably pushing panic buttons for no reason. It’s just great to be able to put my name on another Major championship trophy, and looking forward to April next year and getting a crack at another one.
On the difference between how the course played in the 1991 Ryder Cup and in the USPGA championship . . . was it that the rain really softened this course, or was it that the pressure of the Ryder Cup is just that much more than even a major championship?
I think it was the conditions made the difference. We had a lot of overnight rain a lot of the nights. If this golf course was firm, the scoring wouldn’t be anywhere near what it was. And you know, I’ve seen a few clips of the Ryder Cup in ’91, and it looked very windy and it looked very dry. There’s a different pressure with playing in a Ryder Cup. You’re not just playing for yourself. You’re playing for your team-mates. And that brings a whole different type of pressure.
I can handle losing if I’m just losing for myself, but if I have to go back into the team room and feel like I’ve let down another 11 guys, it doesn’t feel very good. It’s probably slightly a little bit to do with that, as well, but I think more the conditions were quite benign, apart from Friday, and a lot of players were able to take advantage of that.
Asked to be a perfectionist, to pick one part of your game that you wish would have been better this week . . .
Nothing. It was all good.
On breaking Jack Nicklaus’s record margin of victory for a USPGA championship . . .
It’s a nice record to have. I don’t really care if I win by one or if I win by eight. I just want to win and I was able to do that. Of course, it is nice to be able to have the luxury of knowing that you’re going to win with a few holes to go, but you don’t take anything for granted out there. It’s nice to break a record like that, especially of Jack Nicklaus, who is the most successful player of all time so far. Yeah, it’s a nice achievement.
On the importance of Friday’s second round (in the wind) and on the challenge of keeping a score going in such conditions . . .
I was four over through 13 holes on Friday. It had all the signs of a round that could get away from you. I dug in there deep and made that birdie on 14, and it was a silly bogey on 15, but to come back and play 16 well and birdie that, and par the last two, that was definitely a line that I held together well and that 75 could easily have been a 77 or 78. Still wouldn’t have made a difference. But, no, I definitely feel like I’m getting better at handling conditions like that and being able to just know when a 74, 75 is a decent score and move on and know that the next day should be a bit better.
On target-setting heading into the final round . . .
I knew what Ian was doing . I had a peek at a couple of leaderboards out there and saw he was seven under through eight or six under through seven so I knew he got off to a great start. I set myself a target at the start of the day and said I wanted to get to 12-under par, got to 10 at the turn and knew that if I just had a couple of opportunities on the back nine, if I played solid golf through 13; once I got through 13, I knew there was a couple of chances coming up and I was able to take them . . . I would like to win like this all the time but I’m sure that’s not going to happen.
I saw with a few holes to go, I knew I was six – I think I was six ahead with six to play. You know, I knew I could be a little safer; play for the middles of the greens. I knew I had two good chances coming up on 15 and 16 for birdies. You just have got to stick to your game plan and not try and let anything change; and even if you do get so far ahead, still stick to the original plan. That’s what I tried to do.
On comparisons to Tiger Woods . . .
I’ve won my second Major at the same age as he had. But he went on that incredible run like 2000, 2001, 2002 and won so many. You know, I’d love to sit up here and tell you that I’m going to do the same thing, but I just don’t know. It’s been great to win my first Major last year and to back that up with another one this year; I can’t ask for any more. I just want to keep working hard, keep practising, and hopefully there’s a few more of these in my closet when my career finishes.
On his grade for the season . . .
A+. I heard Tiger say, ‘you can have a good season, but to make a good season a great season, you need a Major championship’. Now I’ve had two great seasons in a row no matter what happens from here on in. Hopefully I can play some great golf from now until the end of the year and get myself ready for another great season next year, too.
On bouncing back from his “slump” and criticism of his form . . .
I don’t think I could have answered it in any better way. And yeah, to be honest, it did motivate me. I did want to go out there and prove a few people wrong. That’s what I did. It took me all of four weeks to get my game back in shape and get out of my mini slump, and this is the result.
On when he believed he could win . . . I got here Monday afternoon. I went up to my locker. My locker was right by the window overlooking the putting green and overlooking the beach and the ocean. I was thinking to myself, ‘I just have a good feeling about this week’. And I said it to JP and I said it to my dad and I said it to my whole team; something about this just feels right. It’s funny how things work out.
On wearing a red shirt – à la Tiger Woods – in the final round . . .
I thought if I was playing with him, I wouldn’t wear it. Obviously him, you know who “him” is. Yeah, it was in the script that Oakley sent me at the start of the week. If I was going to be paired with him , I wasn’t going to wear red. I remember what happened to Luke Donald in 2006 at Medinah. I wasn’t playing with him and thought I would wear it. Might have to do it from now on; no wonder he wins so much.
On getting back the world number one spot in the official rankings . . .
To win my second Major and get to world number one all in the same day is very special.
I have had a little taste of it, switched back and forth with Luke a couple of times , went back down to three and back up to one now. It’s nice. It’s something that completely wasn’t on my mind. I just wanted to go out and try and win this. It’s a great bonus on top of an already great day.
