USPGA winner's press conference
Golf:The full transcript of Rory McIlroy's winner's press conference after his second Major win at the PGA Championship on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, USA.
PGA Director of Communications, KELLY ELBIN:
Joining us in the interview room is the 94th PGA Champion, Rory McIroy.
With his victory today, Rory has earned his second major golf championship and has become the second golfer from Northern Ireland to win the PGA Championship and becomes the youngest player to win the PGA Championship since the championship first converted to stroke play in 1958 and he sets the all‑time record for widest margin of victory, eclipsing Jack Nicklaus' seven‑stroke victory at the 1980 PGA Championship.
Rory, an absolute tour de force. Congratulations and comments on becoming the PGA Champion, please.
RORY McILROY:Yeah, just an incredible day (big smile).
I just sort of continued on from the rain delay last night.
Played some beautiful golf on the back nine this morning, even though I didn't hole any putts I could have holed a couple of putts and been a bit better. Went out this afternoon and just tried to play solid golf and I set myself a target.
I said, look if get to 12 under par, nobody is going to catch me and I was able to go one better than that.
To sit up here and see this trophy and call myself a multiple Major Champion, I know I've talked about it in the past, and not many people have done it, and yeah, I'm very privileged to join such an elite list of names.
Q.Pádraig said something earlier which was interesting.
He said the first major Rory won, there was a lot of pressure that came with that, and he thinks now that you've won two, it actually will be good for you because it will relieve some of that pressure and make you feel more comfortable.
How do you feel going forward?
RORY McILROY:I think I made it very clear that I wasn't too happy with how I've performed in the majors since the U.S. Open.
I didn't really contend.
And come in here Wednesday and 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. So you know, there's a few emotions going through.
There's quite a bit of relief to get the second one out of the way.
But you know, just so happy that I was able to play like this and win another major.
Q.18th hole, kind of closed your eyes, put your head back.
What was going through your mind as this all became real to you?
And second, when you weren't giving yourself a chance to win these things, did a tiny bit of doubt creep in?
RORY McILROY:You know, I just‑‑ on 18, I was just taking the whole thing in.
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. And yeah, not really.
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.
Q.Back in 1991, the course was just a bloodbath with so many great players, having so many meltdowns.
This year there were so many players under par, and you put up a record performance.
Was it that the rain really softened this course, or is it that the pressure of The Ryder Cup is just that much more than even major championship?
RORY McILROY: No, I think it was the conditions made the difference.
You know, we had a lot of overnight rain a lot of the nights.
And you know, 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 certain‑‑ there's a different pressure with playing in a Ryder Cup.
You know, you're not just playing for yourself.
You're playing for your teammates.
You're playing for your country.
And that brings a whole different type of pressure. I mean, 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 this week, and a lot of players were able to take advantage of that.
Q. Be a perfectionist.
Pick one part of your game that you wish would have been better this week.
RORY McILROY: Nothing.
It was all good.
(Laughter).
Q. When you hear that you broke Jack Nicklaus's record for margin of victory in the PGA Championship, is that a little overwhelming, to consider who Jack Nicklaus is?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's a nice record to have.
I don't know, I'm ... yeah.
It's just great to be ... you know, 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 today. 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. But you know, it is; 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.
Q.A lot of big putts today, but I want to go back to Friday's 75.
How important was that round for you, a round that could have gotten away from you?
And do you feel like you're at a point in your career where you can manage a round that could get away much better than you used to?
