Rory McIlroy’s Full Press Conference | 2024 Genesis Scottish Open

Watch Rory McIlroy’s full press conference ahead of his title defence at the 2024 Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club.

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The Rolex Series returns to the DP World Tour as The Renaissance Club hosts the Genesis Scottish Open. This year is the third time this event has been co-sanctioned with the PGA TOUR as 75 players from both tours will compete. Rory McIlroy returns to defend his title and make his first appearance since his runner-up finish at the U.S. Open. McIlroy the claimed Hero Dubai Desert Classic earlier this year and was victorious in the Wells Fargo Championship on the PGA Tour in May. Since then, he hasn’t finished worse than tied 15th, which includes a tied 12th at the US PGA Championship and the solo second finish at Pinehurst. Tommy Fleetwood will also be teeing it up in Scotland. Across his last four starts in this event, the world number 11 has finished in the top ten on three occasions and missed out on victory in a play-off against Aaron Rai in 2020. He also claimed 3T at the Masters and has been no worse than a tie for 26th in his last six starts. Ludvig Åberg is in the field this week. The Swede brilliantly claimed 2T on his Masters debut in April and played well for a 12T finish at the US Open three weeks ago. Others to look out for include Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland.

Welcome to the Official YouTube channel of the DP World Tour. Every week you can find extended tournament highlights and individual player highlights from the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood. This is also the home of the 14 Club Challenge, Little Interviews, Fastest Hole and many more challenges, pranks and world record attempts featuring the biggest golfers in the world.

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okay I’m delighted to be joined by our defending Champion Rory maroy here at the Genesis Scottish open Rory last year it was a remarkable birdie birdie finish can you just take us back to those moments and what you remember of winning your first title in Scotland uh yeah um you know it was obviously a really windy day um and you know Bob was you know I felt like Bob had to play a much tougher back nine than me with everything that was on the line with trying to win your your home open and all that and um you know I made a couple of good putts on the on the back nine um I didn’t make Birdie on 16 and felt like that was sort of my opportunity gone uh and then to finish two three like I did um you know everyone talks about the the two iron at the last but the five iron I hit into 17 was was just as good of a shot if not a little bit better so um yeah to hit two iron shots like that and to to hold the putts when I needed to um was yeah it was it was awesome I’m uh you know I was sort of I felt in some ways bad that it came at the expense of Bob um but at the same time it was it was amazing to you know to win a tournament that i’ that I’d never won before so um yeah good memories and and and good to be back great we’ll open with questions from the floor Phil one quick one about that Roy have you seen the plaque yet on 18 where you hit the shot from uh not physically but I’ve I’ve I’ve seen it seen it online yeah they uh they spelled my name wrong first time Ryan so there’s a new one there I thankfully somebody just took a hammer and chisel to the little bit of the L um obviously it’s the first time we’ve had a chance to speak to you since um Piner can you just put into words the actions and emotions of that final round if you can please um I think the way I’ve described Pinehurst on Sunday was like it was a great day until it wasn’t you know I I I did things on that Sunday that I haven’t been able to do in the last couple of years to control the golf tournament um held held pots when I needed to well mostly when I needed to um me birdies uh you know really got myself in there um and then like obviously unfortunately you know to miss those last two putts uh are the the pod on 16 and obviously the pod on 18 um yeah it was a yeah it was it was a tough day it was a tough few days after that obviously um but I think for as you get further away from from it happening you start to see the positives you start to see all the good things that that you did throughout the week uh and yeah and there’s there’s learnings in there too right you know I I I can you know vividly remember starting to feel a little uncomfortable waiting for my my second pot on 16 and um you know the pot on the pot on the last was a you know you know it was a really tricky Putt and I was very aware of where Bryson was off the tea so I knew I had to hit it really soft if if if the one back didn’t matter I would have hit it firmer and it would have been but because I was sort of in two minds I didn’t know whether Bryson was going to make a part or not it was one of those ones where I just had to I had to make sure that if the putt didn’t go in that it wasn’t going 10t by which it very easily could have so um and yeah thinking back I was probably maybe a little too aware of where Bryson was and what he was doing but I think it was the nature of the golf course and how the golf course flowed and how um you know after the 14th te you’re sort of looking at 13 green and then I had to wait on my t- shot on 15 before he hit or you know to let him hit his second shot into 14 and you know there was just the way the course flowed it just it just made me very aware of what he was doing at the same time so it sort of got me out of my own little world a little bit but um but no I mean you know I look back on that day just like I look back in some of my toughest moments in my career and and um you know I I I’ll learn a lot from it um and and I’ll hopefully put that to good use and I’ve you know it’s something that’s been a you know a bit of a theme throughout my career I’ve been able to take those tough moments and um and turn them into uh into great things not not very long after that go to Ian on the right Rory how how difficult were the days that that that sort of followed there and what sort of process of kind of reconciliation in your own mind as to what happened um you know how did that go yeah um it was okay um I went and uh I went home on Sunday night and then I actually spent um mon uh Monday night Tuesday and Wednesday in Manhattan uh which was sort of planned anyway um because obviously I was going to go play The Travelers and and ended up not doing that so uh I went to Manhattan which was nice it was nice to um sort of blend into the city a little bit and um you know you know I walked around you know I walked The High Line a couple of times I made a few phone calls um you know sort of was you know alone with my thoughts for for a couple of days which was um which was good I I had some good chats with with people close to me and I you know I I you know as you start to think about not just Sunday at Pin her but the whole way throughout the week there was a couple of things that I noticed that I wanted to try to work on over the last few weeks coming into to here and and obviously next week at trun so um they were hard but at the same time like as each day went by it it became easier to focus on the positives and then to to think about you know the future instead of what had just happened and and next time when you’re in that kind of position at a major on the back nine who knows it could be true next week what do you think you would do differently or or seek to do differently yeah I mean not that’s the thing not not a not a whole lot different um as I said it was a great day until it wasn’t um I and I think I I touched on it a little bit I you know I think if anything um I would say my pre-shot routine got a little bit long um started to make it start to um look at the Target a few more times over the ball uh and then you know as I said like being very aware of what maybe some others were doing on the golf course and and not really staying you know in my own little world for for the whole 18 holes so um but really apart from that you know I I you know there’s there’s not a lot I would I would do differently we’re g to go to David hi Rory a couple of things um you mentioned the bounceback ability which probably goes all the way back to 2011 US Open was was was this one uh Pro perhaps the hardest to get over though and where maybe billing tune as a shoted Redemption is that how you see it yeah I mean look I still think about the short Miss putt that I missed at kroner sier in 2008 in the playoff so like you think about you think about all of them um and I was probably more devastated after that because I you know it was my rookie year on tour I hadn’t won yet so I mean I I I remember feeling like really bad after that for like you know a good week um I didn’t didn’t you know yeah I I stewed on what happened to Pinehurst for a couple of days but then yeah I thankfully I’ve I I can go home and look at what I’ve achieved in the game and sort of feel okay about myself so um yeah look it was a great opportunity um it pass me by um but hopefully when I get that next opportunity uh it won’t pass me by and just that point I made about is it a shuted Redemption is that are you looking at next week no it’s it’s just another opportunity you know I’m I’m playing Great Golf and it’s a it’s another opportunity to um to see how I can hopefully handle the moment a little bit better than I handled it uh a few weeks ago just to the left Rory can you go further on the the putt on 18 the trickiness of it yeah um I just left at the wrong side of the hole um and it you know I got above the hole that you know where the hole was cut was was on top of a little slope and um it had got pretty dry and crusty around the hole uh and the Chip Shot just you know ran out a little bit and got past the hole so it was a you know I hit that putt very very easy and it you know obviously just missed on the low side and it still went a good you know three or four feet by so um I was probably playing it I don’t know probably two two two and a half cups left um you know with a whatever it was three and a half foot putt so there was a lot of Swing to it especially with how easy I was hitting it and you know as I said if if it was match play and and the next one coming back didn’t matter I I would have approached the putt differently but because of you know knowing that Bryon had hit it left off the tea um you know I I just sort of wanted to make sure that you know if if there was still a chance of a playoff that that I was that it was at least going to be that so yeah Brian hi Rory hi good to see you again um Rory just bring you back to today between the second and third hole today you stopped and spoke to a young man who was in a wheelchair 12 months ago he was a scratch golfer before being struck down by motor M disas Scott Stewart does that make you feel even more appreciative of of what you have and a little bit more humble and secondly 12 months ago you broke the Scottish golf fans Hearts when you beat Bob but since then Bob has been on Ridder cup success PJ tour card winner in the PJ tour what have you made of his 12 months yeah um yeah so first of all there’s there’s not a day goes by that I don’t feel like I’m the luckiest person in the world to be able to get up every morning and be healthy and and follow my dream right I I you know there’s videos of me at seven years old saying I want to be the best player in the world and I want to win all the majors and um to be able to you know try to make that little seven-year-old boy proud every day is is something that I really don’t take for granted so um you know I’m very appreciative of the position I am I’m in in life and um it hits home with you when you meet someone like Scott this morning absolutely but um I think you know I try to try to be as grateful as possible um all the time and then with Bob uh yeah I mean he’s had an amazing 12 months you know we we all know the the talent that he’s had and um look it would have been great for him to win the Scottish open last year um but he’ll have plenty more chances and um you know he’s obviously you he’s playing well so he’s got another great chance this week but yeah to make the rer Cup team to um to have the week that he had in Rome uh you know to win in Canada with his dad on the bag and you know it’s it’s been a it’s been a brilliant 12 months for Bob and um you know every everyone on tour is delighted for him because he’s such a good lad and he you know he he obviously doesn’t doesn’t forget where he comes from and he you know he gets back to open as much as he can and uh yeah he’s a he’s a great lad and and I think everyone’s really happy to to see the success that go to Michael and then to Doug Rory in the last few weeks in the sort of dust settling from pineur there’s been quite a lot of criticism online from some high-profile people Hank KY Smiley kman Etc of Harry strikes me just my opinion that sometimes he’s held to higher standard in other caddies I’m wondering what your take is on some of the criticism that you’ve seen and also what he brings to you deep into a major championship yeah uh you know it’s it’s it’s certainly unfair um hanen’s never been in that position um uh Smiley has been in that position once and I I love Smiley um and he was out there with us on on 18 but um just because Harry’s not as vocal or as led with his words as other Cades you know it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t say anything that he doesn’t do anything um and I just wish that you know these guys that that criticize when things don’t go my way they never say anything good when things do go my way so where were they when I won Dubai earlier this year or quill Hollow or the two FedEx cups that I’ve onon with Harry or the three R to dubis or the whatever so they’re never there to say Harry did such a great job when I win but they’re always there to say it’s such a you know they criticize when when we don’t win so um at the end of the day they’re not there they’re not in the arena they’re not the ones that are hitting the shots and making the decisions um you know if someone said to me once if um if you would never if you would never take advice from these people then you wouldn’t you you’d never take their criticisms either so I certainly wouldn’t go to Han Kenny for advice um and like I love Smiley but you know I think I know what I’m doing out there and so does har Doug nobody recognize you on the Highline a few few people did yeah but I have my airpods in and just sort of you know but yeah that’s nice that’s curious you mentioned starting to feel a little bit uncomfortable before the putt on 16 what what caused that you think um I think I had such a good Putt and it looked like you know halfway halfway down the first putt it looked like it could have been a birdie and then it ran probably r a foot by from where I thought it was going to finish um and then I marked it uh yeah and then Patrick was you know was hitting his Putt and um you know he can take his time I’m not you know but you know obviously it’s greens are tough It’s a end of a Sunday at the US Open like you have to be really deliberate on what you’re doing so just think I had to wait a while to hit that second Putt and uh it wasn’t as if it was just more you know you you stand there and it’s hard not to it’s hard not to either start thinking about the future or noticing where Bryson’s ball is in the Fairway or that sort of stuff so um but again that’s that’s on me to make sure that I’m in I’m in the right head space and um and I had a decent like I had a a decent putt on 16 the the green grab that I hit it probably red at like just right of Center probably started at a touch left of that probably started it straight maybe touch left to Center and and the green grab then I caught the left Edge so um wasn’t a terrible putt but you know I I I definitely felt a little bit of uneasiness before before I hit it okay we’re going final question Tom hi Rory do you have any regrets about the way you left after the round rather than staying and speaking to anyone absolutely not no um there’s nothing that I could have said um that was not that I mean it would have been good because you guys would have been able to write something about it or or had a few from me but um no offense you guys were the least of my worries at that point okay we wish you all the best of luck this weary thanks for your time to watch another DP World toour video click here and to subscribe click here