Rory McIlroy spoke to the media at Royal Troon ahead of the 152nd Open Championship, where he seeks to win his second Claret Jug and first Major title since 2014.
The Northern Irishman was runner-up at the last Major, the US Open, where he was pipped by Bryson DeChambeau by a single stroke after bogeys at three of his final four holes.
He said his game is in "really good shape" and also shared a funny story of how he accidentally blanked Tiger Woods, while paying tribute to his hero.
"Game's in really good shape," the World No.2 said.
"Had a nice reset after Pinehurst that was needed and felt like I shook off a little bit of the rust last week and played okay.
"Got my first look at the golf course this morning early. It's basically a tale of two nines on this course. You feel like you have to make your score on the way out and then sort of hang on coming in.
"Looking forward to the week. The course is in great shape. Obviously we've got an amazing field, as these major championships produce now. It's the only time four times a year that we get everyone back together."
As it happened, here's everything McIlroy said in his Open press conference:
Rory is one of the favorites this week, as always, so it'll be interesting to hear about his game, where his head's at after the US Open and what he thinks of Royal Troon
MCILROY HAS ARRIVED
He's played a practice round this morning with Darren Clarke, with his putting coach Brad Faxon and full swing coach Michael Bannon also out with him.
CHANGED NUMBERS AFTER US OPEN
Tiger Woods earlier revealed that he'd text McIlroy a week after his US Open heartbreak, but he didn't get it - as the Northern Irishman says he changed phone numbers two days after Pinehurst.
"I blanked Tiger Woods," he joked.
"I BLANKED TIGER WOODS"
"I blanked Tiger Woods"Rory McIlroy says he changed numbers so never received Tiger Woods' text after US Open pic.twitter.com/MEXkV8ad0IJuly 16, 2024
'PHENOMENAL' MACINTYRE
"Absolutely phenomenal what he did last week... It was a perfect ending to the tournament," he said on Robert MacIntyre's Scottish Open triumph.
High praise from one @ScottishOpen champion to the next 🤝 pic.twitter.com/9KA3Z6ynxrJuly 16, 2024
WHY HE CHANGED NUMBERS:
"Honestly, from the time I left Pinehurst to the time I walked through my front door on Sunday night, I probably got about 10 or 15 text messages from media members, and I was like, it's probably time to get a new number. Create a bit of space."
ON ROYAL TROON:
"It's basically a tale of two nines on this course. You feel like you have to make your score on the way out and then sort of hang on coming in. Looking forward to the week. The course is in great shape.
"Obviously we've got an amazing field, as these major championships produce now. It's the only time four times a year that we get everyone back together. So looking forward to the week."
ON CHANGING HIS NUMBER AND MISSING WOODS TEXT:
"Full disclosure, I changed my number two days after the US Open, so I didn't get it until he told me about it today. I was like, oh, thanks very much. So I blanked Tiger Woods, which is probably not a good thing," he said,
"Tiger has been nothing but incredible to me over the course of my career in the good moments and the bad. He sent me an incredible message after St Andrews in 2022.
"I met Tiger when I was 15 years old, and I've built up a great relationship with him, his whole family. He really enjoys spending time with my mom and dad as well. So, yeah, it means a lot. It means a lot that he reached out.
"Actually it means a lot that he waited a few days to reach out, which if he hadn't have waited that long, I probably would have got it. But I caught up with him earlier. It's always nice when your hero and the guy that you had on your bedroom wall is reaching out and offering words of encouragement."
GAME IS IN 'REALLY GOOD SHAPE'
"Game's in really good shape. Had a nice reset after Pinehurst that was needed and felt like I shook off a little bit of the rust last week and played okay. Felt like I probably could have given myself more of a chance to win the tournament. I thought it was a solid week.
"Again, it's like one eye on preparing for this week, but another eye on trying to get into contention as well. Overall I've been in the UK now for a couple of weeks, and it's felt nice to get back over here and get back into the swing of things."
GOT SOME TIPS FROM LUKE DONALD IN TODAY'S PRACTICE ROUND:
Fax was out there walking with me this morning, and so was Luke Donald. I asked Luke - I really try to focus on the strike more than anything else here and put a good roll on it because any putt here that's misstruck just doesn't get to the hole," he said.
"So I sort of picked Luke's brain a little bit, and he always said he liked to focus on the tempo of his stroke and really, if anything, make it a little shorter and a little brisker on greens like this. So that's something that - you know, the strike and maybe just think a little bit more about the tempo of the stroke, two good things this week."
TALK OF WHEN HE'LL WIN ANOTHER MAJOR DOESN'T BOTHER HIM
"It doesn't bother me. I know that I'm in a good spot. If I think about 2015 through 2020, that five-year stretch I seldom had a realistic chance to win a major championship in that five-year period," he said.
"So I'd much rather have these close calls. It means that I'm getting closer. But yeah, absolutely, I'd love to be able to play the golf and get one over the line, but as soon as I do that, people are going to say, well, when are you going to win your sixth? So it's never ending."
TOOK 3-4 DAYS TO GET OVER US OPEN
"I would say maybe like three or four days after, went from being very disappointed and dejected to trying to focus on the positives to then wanting to learn from the negatives and then getting to the point where you become enthusiastic and motivated to go again," he said.
"So it probably took three, four, five days. It's funny how your mindset can go from I don't want to see a golf course for a month to like four days later being can't wait to get another shot at it. When that disappointment turns to motivation, that's when it's time to go again. But, yeah, three, four days."
MCILROY ON BEING FRIENDS WITH HIS HERO
"I always say this, and it sounds cliche, but I don't take it for granted that I can wake up every day and try to live out my childhood dream. And one of my childhood dreams was to meet Tiger Woods, but not only that, to compete against him and to befriend him and become close to him," he said.
"Yeah, not in my wildest dreams did I think that I'd end up in the position that I'm in, but I'm very grateful for it. I still have to remind myself a lot that this is my life."
ON THE STINGER DRIVE:
"It's definitely something I've developed over the years, and honestly it's only a shot I've been able to hit since I've become a little stronger. Really it's about trying to keep my right side high on the way into the golf ball. I've talked about my sort of low tee and high tee," he explained.
"I tee it down low, which helps me keep on top of it and keep that right side high. If I tee it up a little higher, I can get some right side bend going. When you time it well, it can be awesome. When you don't time it so well, it can create some issues. It's a really nice go-to shot for me if I don't feel 100 percent comfortable on a tee shot or if a tee shot doesn't fit my eye, to be able to tee it low and hit that shot.
"12 at Pinehurst was an example. It's a wide fairway, but I got up there, and I just didn't see anything. So to just get the ball on the deck and get it running, especially on fairways like that, conditions like this, it's something that -- it's a shot that I've went to more and more over the last couple of years since I've been able to practice it and develop it.
"It's been a nice go-to when I'm struggling to see a certain shot. Just tee it low and sort of squeeze one out there, and it still gets out there quite a long way, which is nice."
ON BEING IN NEW YORK AFTER US OPEN LOSS:
"It's liberating in some way. The thing is just to get out, to not be on a screen, to look around, to - I think trying to find the joy from the small things in life I think is really important," he said.
"Going there especially is a good reset, just in terms of seeing everyone living their lives and the hustle and the bustle. Honestly, no one gave a shit if I missed the putt at Pinehurst.
"It's a nice perspective to keep. Yeah, just to go and get lost in a big city like that and just be one of the herd sort of going about your day, for me anyway, it's a nice feeling."
KNEW 'EARLY ON' HITTING IT HIGH AND LONG WAS THE WAY TO GO
Probably early on. I always liked trying to hit it far and hit it high. I didn't necessarily grow up on a links course," he said.
"Holywood is a parkland sort of golf course. I had to learn how to hit it high. I think, once I was a teenager and I started to travel around Europe and to South Africa and Australia and some of these other amateur events, I soon realized that hitting it long and hitting it high was a big advantage in the game."
'I KNOW I'LL HANDLE IT A LITTLE BIT BETTER'
Speaking to BBC, McIlroy is confident he can handle the pressure of leading a Major better this time around.
"I know I'll handle it a little bit better" 💭Rory McIlroy is confident he will handle the pressure of trying to capture a fifth major championship if he finds himself in contention to win on Sunday 🏌️♂️#BBCGolf pic.twitter.com/jFQGEiIJ9LJuly 16, 2024
