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Rory McIlroy – R4 interview

Q. You just played your last competitive round of 2017. Just give us your verdict on the golfing year as a whole?
RORY McILROY: I think my last round of 2017 sort of summed up all of 2017. Not much happening, good or bad. Just sort of stuck in neutral. Yeah, hasn’t been the year I wanted on the golf course.

Obviously I started the year with grabbed ambitions trying to add to my major tally and trying to win golf tournaments and get backup near the top of the World Rankings. I obviously have not been able to do that.

But I feel even though I haven’t won and the results haven’t been what I have wanted, I feel like I can still salvage something from the rest of the year. Even though I’m not playing, I’ve given myself a lot of opportunity to put a lot of good foundations in place going forward. That’s what I’m going to concentrate on from now until the end of the year.

Q. Three months away from the game, obviously to recover fully from the injury. What other areas will you work on to play better next year?
RORY McILROY: I think there’s a lot of areas of my game that need sharpening: Wedge play, putting would be the two main areas that I need to get better. I feel like my iron play sort of came on the last few weeks.

I’ve been working a little bit on TrakMan, and you know, obviously saw some good signs last week at Close House. I didn’t really play that well this week but still, it was nice to feel like I was in the hunt at some stage at the end of the season there. Basically all areas of my game could get a little bit better.

But you know, what that’s a few weeks away. I won’t start hitting balls until the end of November, so really the next few weeks is just in the gym and rehab and getting my body right to be able to go into that practice and be able to start 2018 strongly.

Q. A couple of weeks ago you celebrated ten years as a professional: 21 wins, four majors, three Race to Dubais, FedExCup, yet you feel you can achieve more in the next ten years. Tell us why.
RORY McILROY: I just feel with the experience I have now, I’m definitely a better player I feel than the player that won some of those tournaments and some of those majors. I feel like I’m a much better player now than I was in 2010 and 2012 when I was able to win a couple of majors.

I see no reason why I can’t better that in the next ten years and that’s why I feel like these three months are very important for me to put some really good things in place and step away and just reassess everything and reassess where I’m at and where I need to be.

You know, the landscape of the game has changed a bit since I started to win majors. You’ve got young, hungry guys now that are fearless, basically, and they are playing the game how I basically came out and played a few years ago. It’s just about trying to gain an advantage here or there, so just reassessing everything and making sure I’m sort of not leaving any stone unturned and do everything I can to get back to the best player in the world.