RORY McILROY: Thank you. Obviously I'm very excited to be here. It's my second trip to Augusta, but first Masters week.
It's great. It's a huge thrill to be here, and you know, it's been a dream of mine for a long time to be able to play in the Masters, and for that dream to finally come true is a pretty special feeling.
It's a week that I'm going to enjoy and hopefully I'll be playing pretty well. Hopefully I can carry that good golf into this week, as well. But I'm here to enjoy myself and hopefully pick up some valuable experience. If it doesn't quite work out this week, I'll hopefully have plenty more to try to do well in. You know what, it's just going to be a great week and one I'm really looking forward to.
RONALD TOWNSEND: Thank you, Rory. We'll invite your questions now.
Q. What are the logistical challenges coming to a tournament for the first time? Do you have people helping or do you have to find out how to get to the house and here and where to park? Do they explain that pretty well?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I'm very lucky to have such a great team around me, International Sports Management, they make everything very easy. I got off the plane last night was taken straight to the house, met my mom, dad, girlfriend. It was pretty easy.
But I came here last Sunday, I came to Augusta, and played, and sort of just got to know my way around a little bit, know where the locker room is, where the range is, just where everything is, just to make it a little easier this week.
Q. You talked about how your manager helped you settle in last night but how crazy has it been this morning?
RORY McILROY: It's been okay. It's been a bit of a rush. I had to go and register and pick up my car. I knew that I was doing this press conference, but I only remembered it about ten o'clock this morning, so I had to sort of rush through my practice and try to get on to the golf course and play quite a few holes.
But yeah, I mean, there's so many people around. It pretty crazy, just to think this is the Monday of the golf tournament. But yeah, obviously it's going to get even better as the week goes on, so that's great.
Q. We saw the commotion, the amount of people looking for your autograph on the way to the practice round. How are you enjoying your new star status this side of the Atlantic?
RORY McILROY: It's great. Obviously I've received a lot of attention the last few weeks, and you know you're doing things well when you are ‑‑ well, most of the time, when you are doing things well, you are receiving attention.
You know, it's been great. I wasn't able to sign that many autographs. I was rushing to the range to hit a few balls before I went out. After I've done this, I'll sign as many as I can.
Q. Gary Player was talking about the progression of winning the Grand Slam. He did it at 29, Jack did it at 26, Tiger at 24. He said it's time for you and some of the younger guys to think big, perhaps 22. Is it doable or is that too much?
RORY McILROY: Is that a year from now?
Q. Maybe two a year.
RORY McILROY: I don't know. I'd have to play extremely well. But obviously, it's not out of the realm of possibility. But there are so many great players out here now, and the depth of the fields are so strong that it's very difficult to win a major championship, let alone a PGA TOUR event.
So you have to play incredibly well on that week, and you've got to get a few lucky points here and there if you're going to pick up a major.
Q. Just what are some of your impressions, your first impressions of being here today and walking around and playing and being out on the course and being here with people and not just practice?
RORY McILROY: It's the Monday of a tournament, but there's already a great atmosphere. I got to play nine holes. I played the back nine, which was cool. I got to skim it across the water on 16 and did all that, which is cool.
But it's a week that you just have to enjoy. Obviously you want to play well and you want to do as well as you can, but I've played well to get here, and not only I'm here, I might as well enjoy it and just see how far I can get. I'm expecting to play well, and hopefully I'll be in the mix come the weekend.
Q. In the holes you played last Sunday and now today, you've obviously tested your short game against this course a bit. What's your initial thoughts? Do you have the game in that respect, do you feel?
RORY McILROY: I think so. I spin my chip shots quite a lot. It sets up well for me in that respect.
But you can hit chip shots you think are going to go two feet past the hole and they end up 20 feet past the hole. You've really got to take into consideration your pace and just try and get it within a 6‑foot sort of ‑‑ I think putts from between three and eight feet this week, they are all going to be crucial, because you are going to have a lot of putts that length for pars.
I'll be doing a lot of practice on those putts this week and trying to get my stroke good for those.
Q. And have you enjoyed the challenge of it, what you've tested yourself with so far out there?
RORY McILROY: It's different than any other golf course, because you have to play so many shots. You have to bump it up hills or you might have to land it up on top and try and spin it or get it to stop. There's so many different variations, and I think you have that to have a good imagination for it, as well.
Q. At 19 you are the oldest of a little trio of teenagers. How special is that for you and the tournament as a whole?
RORY McILROY: I think it's great for the Tournament and for golf in general, for guys that are still in their teens to still be coming up. You look at Ryo Ishikawa, he's won twice on the Japan Tour, once as an amateur; and Danny Lee, won the U.S. Amateur last year and on The European Tour this year, and myself.
It's good. It's great for golf. Hopefully it inspires people that are not that much younger than us to take up golf and try and one day emulate what we have done.
Q. Apparently he supports Manchester United, as well; did you know that?
RORY McILROY: Yes, I read that somewhere. I think we are all pretty pleased about the result yesterday. It was a very lucky win and keeps us on top, so that was good.
Q. Did you have any feeling of awe when you first stepped on the grounds here last Sunday, and if you did how do you keep from getting overwhelmed by that this week?
RORY McILROY: I didn't. I really didn't. I thought I would be. I thought I would be nervous hitting my first shot here. But you know, I think maybe if I was a little younger and maybe if I played here as an amateur it, would have been a little different and I would have been in awe of the place.
But having been on Tour now for a year and a half, I'm not saying that it's not any different, but you try and, you know, just treat it as if it was another golf tournament. I'm not really one to get overwhelmed by much these days for some reason, don't know why.
But yeah, obviously I'm really excited to be here, don't get me wrong. But I want to try and get the most out of this week as possible. So you can't really be in awe of anything.
Q. For somebody to be in the position that you and Ryo and Danny are at that young age, are there other situations where it might be too young or it might be rushing it? Some people think Michelle Wie might have been rushing it or Justin Rose might have come out a little bit too early; does it always depend on the individual now and the support team that he's got to make it work at this young age?
RORY McILROY: I don't even think it's the support team. I think it's the mental capacity that a certain individual has. I just touched on it a couple of seconds ago; I'm not one to get overwhelmed by much. I just go about my business and play my golf, and if it's good enough, then so be it.
But I think it definitely makes you ‑‑ playing on Tour at such an early age, I don't feel like a 19‑year‑old. Obviously I am, but I feel like I've matured very quickly since coming on Tour, and I'm sure Danny and Ryo will tell you the same thing.
But it's obviously a great position to be in, and one that I've wanted to get to for a long time. Now that I'm here, I want to make the most of it, and become the best player that I can be.
Q. When is the last time you did feel overwhelmed, and what was the occasion?
RORY McILROY: Maybe when I won in Dubai. Probably just the whole ‑‑ I had been sort of coming close a couple of times and sort of thinking to myself, when was I going to win, and to finally get that win, it was a bit of relief, a bit of just everything and a lot of emotions. But that was probably the last time.
Q. What did that do to your profile? Everyone had known you were talented and coming, but to have finally won, did it take the scrutiny to another level, and is it something that you were prepared for, do you think?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think so. It gave me a lot of confidence, beating a field like that, that had at the time the No. 2 player in the world; you had I think maybe seven or eight of the Top 15 in the world. It was a great confidence boost for me and knowing that I could beat a field like that, it gave me a lot of motivation to try and go on and do better.
And obviously to get into the Majors and to get into the big championships, it's just another step in the progression and hopefully I can keep progressing for a long time.
Q. What was the first Masters you watched on television and the one that first made an impression on you?
RORY McILROY: The first one that I watched ‑‑ I probably watched a lot on TV. But the first one that I can remember is when Faldo beat Norman in '96.
'97, I could probably tell you every shot that Tiger hit. '97 is probably the one that stands out most.
Q. You seem to be extremely focused and motivated on what you're doing this week. How do you think the atmosphere here will affect you? You like to be the center of attention; you've said that. Do you think it could maybe give you an extra spurt?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it could do. I do enjoy the attention and just seeing by the crowds today, it's only a Monday, and they are going to get better and they are going to get bigger.
Yeah, I mean, whenever you're playing well, if the crowd are with you, it definitely spurs you on. So it's a nice advantage to have on your side. If the crowd are behind you, it gives you a little momentum. Even if you bogey the hole, people are shouting to you the next hole, come on, Rory, you can get it back. It's nice to have everyone on your side.
Q. You mentioned being able to recount every shot that Tiger made in '97; some feel that Tiger has sort of intimidated a lot of his peers out here. Has it been less that and more inspiration for, say, guys your age, to see a young guy win the Masters in 1997 and maybe you think, okay, he did it, we can do it, too?
RORY McILROY: I think so. Yeah, I think the guys that are playing in Tiger's era, I've seen them do all of these things and play in the same tournaments as him, and maybe thought this guy is almost unbeatable; where, you know, the likes of myself and Danny and Ryo have seen him on TV. You know, we can relate to him in a way, especially that first Masters. He was only 21 and you could sort of relate to someone that age. You were think to go yourself, "Well, hopefully when I'm that age, I can do something like that."
It was definitely inspirational to see someone come out and make such a great start to their professional career. That's what I've always wanted to do. You know, if I can play well enough this week, I might be able to emulate it.
Q. You had been doing remarkable things for the last four years, anyway. Is there any sense in which you feel yourself to be special, to be different, as a golfer?
RORY McILROY: No, not really. Well, not as a person. I'm just an average guy that can play pretty good golf.
But no, not really. I mean ‑‑
Q. Even in terms of your talent, and what you know you have and can do.
RORY McILROY: No. Because I realize that I have the talent, but you need to put the hard work in to be able to make the most of it.
I think it's a combination of talent and hard work, plus other things.
Q. I think every mother in the world is fascinated by your hair and wondering if you are ever going to get it cut, and if so, when?
RORY McILROY: I don't know. It's starting to annoy me a little bit. It's getting a little much. I might get it cut whenever I come back from this little stint after Hilton Head before I play TPC.
So, we'll see. It won't be much. I'll just get it trimmed and see how it goes.
Q. It will go before you win a Major?
RORY McILROY: Not sure. Maybe. Depends how fast I win a Major.
Q. You do have a barber, though, right, at home?
RORY McILROY: Can't remember. (Laughter) Yeah, I do ‑‑ yeah. I haven't seen him in a while, though.
Q. You talk about not being intimidated by Tiger and maybe being from a little different era, but how do you think you would react if you were in the final group with him on Sunday?
RORY McILROY: You know what, it would be an occasion that you would relish. That's what you've practiced so hard for your whole life, to be able to play in the final group of a Major with the best player in the world. So it would be a great experience.
You know, it's hard to ‑‑ obviously he makes players do things that they probably wouldn't do. But you've got to go out and play golf and you've got to think if you shoot something in the mid to high 60s, you're going to have a chance and that's all you can do. All you can control is your golf ball, and if you can control that well enough, everything else will take care of itself.
Q. You played the back with Mike Weir, a former champion here. Did you learn anything from his game, how he managed the course, did you ask him questions? Did you learn a lot from that nine holes?
RORY McILROY: I didn't really ask him too many questions. I was just putting to the tees he was putting to, so he probably knows the greens pretty well. Mike's game and my game are completely different. He can plot his way around the golf course more where I would just try and hit it as far down there as possible.
It was great to play with him and see the spots where he was chipping from, because he knows where you're most likely to miss the green. So to chip from the spots that he was and to chip to the same parts of the green; in that respect, it was quite good to play with him.
Q. Just in terms of shot selection, and club selection, how are you finding the yardages out on the course?
RORY McILROY: It's actually quite difficult, because the wind swirls so much. You get on the 12th tee, and you look at 11th pin and it's blowing down and you look at the 12th pin and it's blowing into you and you're sort of like, what am I going to do here. You just have to trust it.
The wind today was probably a little stronger than it's going to be this week, but you've just got to trust your numbers and commit to the shot. I mean, I had a shot ‑‑ I hit two balls into 12 today. I hit a 7‑iron into the front of the green because it was into off the right and I hit an 8‑iron to the middle back of the green because it switched completely down wind.
You just have to pick your club and commit to it.
Q. And what did you hit on 16?
RORY McILROY: I hit a 7‑iron and 4‑iron from a little skimmer.
Q. Are you going to hit that again on Thursday, the 7‑iron?
RORY McILROY: It depends where the wind is and where the pin is and where they put the tee box.
You know, it depends. I think I had 160 to the pin today, just a little into the breeze.
Q. Have you had an opportunity to get to know at all the other 19‑year‑olds? Have you taken over a corner of the locker room? Are you setting up a sound system in there?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, we might do. That would be good. Set up a little Man United TV.
Actually no, haven't been in the locker room yet. Haven't been in. Need to go in and pick up a few balls and gloves and stuff.
Q. Is there a sense among the three of you, fellow travelers and this, or is there?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I've seen Danny Lee on the putting green today and it was the first time I seen him after he won the Johnnie Walker, so I went up to him and congratulated him.
It's pretty cool to have three teenagers in the field. Probably, well, I won't be a teenager next year, but hopefully Ryo and Danny will be back here and back in the field, and they will still be teenagers. Yeah, I think it's a great thing to have, and as I said, I think it's great for golf for the future.
Q. Obviously it was a little before your era, but Gary Player was in here before you and said it would be his last Masters. Do you have any impressions of him, as you're arriving as he's setting sun.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, Gary has been a tremendous competitor for, I don't know, since the 60s, would it be, 70s? Something like that.
Q. 50s.
RORY McILROY: 50s? Really? (Laughter).
You know, I think it's great to see him here every year. The golf course has got extremely long for him these days, and he can't ‑‑ but he still, I think last year, did he shoot 77 or 78 in the second round?
So, you know, he could still play. I think it's great that especially at this event, that you could see all the past winners; they can come back and they can play. It just makes it a little more special and a little different. I think that's what the Masters is about. It's special and it's completely different than any other week or any other golf course that you play.
You know, I think everyone comes here and they enjoy it. It's one of the events of the year that's on everybody's mind.
Q. Having played the course a couple of times, are there any holes out there that scare you?
GARY PLAYER: It depends. 12, you've just got to trust ‑‑ you could think it's downwind and it's actually into the wind. You've just got to commit to your shot.
But apart from that, you know, you've just got to play to your spots. I've said this before, sometimes you've got to play away from the pins here and take a 30‑footer and 2‑putt and go to the next, because you know, par is a pretty good score around here.
Q. Do you have a favorite already?
GARY PLAYER: 13.
Q. That you can really overpower?
GARY PLAYER: Yeah, 13, I've got quite a high ball flight, so I can take it over the tree on the left, so it gives me ‑‑ I don't have to try and hook it around the corner. It gives me a bit of an advantage there.
Q. What did you shoot there today?
GARY PLAYER: I hit a great drive down there. I had 170 to the front of the green. Pin was all the way in the back, so I hit four.
RONALD TOWNSEND: Other questions? Thank you, Rory. Thank you all, and good luck this week.
