McIlroy Ready to Go at Gleneagles


Rory McIlroy is coming into the Ryder Cup off a stellar season. The 25-year-old Northern Irishman took home two more majors - the British Open and PGA Championship, bringing his career total to four, and won the WGC-Bridgestone Championship.

Those victories - three consecutive for him - led McIlroy to rise to No. 1 in the world rankings, which he continues to lead by a sizable 2.5-plus-point margin over Australia's Adam Scott.

Earlier this month McIlroy was named the PGA of America's Player of the Year, and also wrapped up the Vardon Trophy for low scoring average (68.82 through 66 complete rounds).

He also has an excellent chance of receiving the PGA Tour's POY award, which will be announced the week after the Ryder Cup. Voting, by PGA Tour members, closes on September 25.

The player with the most realistic chance to beat him on the ballot, two-time 2014 winner Billy Horschel - who concluded the season with victories in the BMW Championship and Tour and won the FedEx Cup - has said he'll vote for McIlroy.

So the young Ulsterman heads into Gleneagles Hotel as the star of the European Ryder Cup team, a strong contingent considered the odds-on favorite to retain the Cup.

During his Wednesday Q&A with reporters, McIlroy said he relishes being on center stage. "I'm the sort of character that would enjoy that, enjoy that environment, enjoy being in the spotlight, I guess, and being one of the guys that sort of everyone is focusing on," he said.

"I like that. I'll embrace that, and it comes as part of what I've done this year and who I am. Being No. 1 in the world and all that comes with that, you expect that and you just try to handle it as best that you can."

Yet his overall focus will be on the team, and the Euros quest to win three straight Cups, and seven of the past nine. "I'm just excited to be back for the Ryder Cup, and excited to try and win it for the third time in a row," he noted.

Here's what else McIlroy had to tell the press during his sit-down session two days before the start of the biennial competition in Scotland.

MODERATOR: We have Rory McIlroy with us this morning. Rory, thank you very much for joining us. What a summer it's been for you. You must be very excited to be here in arguably the form of your life.

RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's great to be here. Great to be back at the Ryder Cup. You know, I've had two goes at it already, and two great experiences in Wales and obviously last time at Medinah with that come back and how everything unfolded on the Sunday. So excited to be here. It's been great to get back into the team room and just have fun with the guys and just catch up and we are all looking forward to a great week.

MODERATOR: And you had a special guest joining you last night, did you?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, we did, which for me being a Manchester United fan was the highlight of the week so far. I was there and I was just sitting there and looking up at him, and I didn't - I didn't take my eyes off him. I was sort of in this trance just listening to everything that he was saying and I'm sort of thinking, this is all the stuff that he's probably said to Manchester United teams over the years. He told us a couple stories just of past experiences in some big games and big matches, and some of the players that he managed, and it was a great evening. It was a really cool thing to be a part of.

Q. I was going to say, just following on from what you were saying about the team talk from Fergie last night, just how useful an exercise do you think that was?

RORY McILROY: Look, not everyone in that room is a Manchester United fan, and they made that known (laughter). But very useful, because we got to ask some questions, just about different things and what he thought was the key element to being successful, and successful as a team. Yeah, he's a very inspirational sort of man when he talks. He's got a lot of authority and the room just goes quiet and everyone listens. So as I said, it was a great experience for everyone, obviously, but especially for me being a big Manchester United fan.

Q. What were any of the stories he actually told you, can you tell us?

RORY McILROY: No.

Q. Looked like you got a new driver that you were testing or at least practicing with yesterday. Can you tell us if a), that's the case, and b), if you're going to use it, and c), are you aware of Phil Mickelson changing his clubs before 2004 and having not exactly a great week of it?

RORY McILROY: Phil Mickelson nearly hit me off the tees in 2004. I was standing down the left-hand side, so I'm very aware of what he did that week (laughter). Hey, look, Phil changed from one equipment manufacturer to another. This is a driver that I've actually been using and practicing with since June, so it's not like - I wouldn't be putting it in the bag if I didn't feel it was better. But I think everyone saw yesterday, it was the only driver I had out there in the bag. It's looking likely that it's going to be in the bag this week.

Q. Captain McGinley talked about a template that each successive captain has been rolling out. Can you talk a bit about that and what you think leads to the European success recently?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, you know, what we have been doing has been working. We've won seven of the last nine Ryder Cups. So Paul was very adamant that he was not going to come in and try and change anything up. He just wanted to keep to the same blueprint, the same template, and you just try and enhance it, just try and do what we've been doing but just do it a little bit better. That's sort of been the plan all week. That is the plan all week. What we have been doing in previous Ryder Cups is working. We're winning, and you don't really - you don't have to try to reinvent the wheel here. We know what we're doing, we've done it before and we are going to try to do it again.

Q. Can you give us an idea of what the template is?

RORY McILROY: I mean, I know you're Canadian, and there's a lot of Americans in the room here, so (smiling).

Q. I know you will take orders from the captain, but would you like the responsibility of leading the team off on Friday? Would you relish that?

RORY McILROY: That's completely Paul's decision. You know, I have a job to do which is to go out and win points for Europe, and I don't care what number I play or who I play with. I've got a responsibility just to put points on the board, and I'm 1/12th of a team unit here. I'm going to play the same role as everyone else just to try and get points on the board. So I wouldn't say it wouldn't be a thrill, of course, leading the team out would be a huge buzz and a great thrill. But no matter where I play, I've still got the same objective, which is just to win my match.

Q. If you were an American, would you take more joy out of beating you or beating Poulter?

RORY McILROY: I don't know. I think maybe in this format and in this environment and in the Ryder Cup, probably Poulter just because how good his record is. But yeah, you know, I know Watson has been talking about targeting us two and whatever, but at the same time, it's only one-sixth of the team. There's 10 other world-class players that he has to worry about, as well, and they are just as capable of putting points on the board for Europe. They can try and target us all they want, but there's guys alongside us that can do just as good a job.

Q. I think this target business is really about whether beating somebody is worth more than a point, as they used to say about Tiger. I guess my question to you would be: Are you any more worth more than one point, a target, however you look at it -

RORY McILROY: Someone beats me, they win a point.

Q. Right, but the motivation behind it, whatever, is it any different now than it was in 2012, when you were coming off a huge buildup to the Ryder Cup, No. 1 in the world, majors, how is it different for you this time, do you think?

RORY McILROY: It's not different at all. It's the same. They win a match against me, they get a point, no more, no less.

Q. You seem to have developed a nice friendship with Rickie. Why do you think that is? Is it a function of living close together or having been so competitive in the majors this year?

RORY McILROY: Rickie and I have been close way before we lived close to each other or way before we were competing in these majors. I go back to even before the 2007 Walker Cup, even before that we knew each other. So we've known each other for a good seven or eight years. I feel like I've just built a friendship with him from then. He was the guy on the U.S. Team back then at the Walker Cup that I really got on well with, and I've sort of followed him ever since, and I think he played another - I'm not sure when, did he turn pro in 2008, 2009, I think, so I've followed him ever since and obviously he's done great and he's on Tour. We've had a few good battles in the past.

He beat me in a playoff at Quail Hollow and I finished second to him, as well in, Korea. We've obviously had these close encounters in the majors this year, so hopefully we have a lot more of those in the years to come, and it's nice to have a friendly, competitive relationship, as well, because he is a great guy and any time that he's playing well, I'm happy for him. I'm sure he feels the same way.

Q. As Stephen Gallacher was making his push to get on the team, you were one of the players Tweeting. Are you happy to see him here and what advice do you have for him as a rookie?

RORY McILROY: I thought even if Stevie didn't do what he did do at the Italian Open, I thought he should still be on the team or make the team. He's had a very solid couple of years, and especially being from Scotland and being able to play Ryder Cup in your home country is huge. So I love that he's on the team, and as a rookie, just go out and embrace it and enjoy it. I remember my first match as a rookie in Celtic Manor, and I was so uptight and didn't really want to make a mistake, and that isn't the way to approach it. You have to almost go out and be carefree and freewheel, and that's what it's all about and that's what will enable to you play your best golf. Whenever Stevie plays, I just say so him, go out and enjoy it and embrace it. To be able to play in front of your home fans, your home country, as well, is something that he might never get to experience again. So yeah, just go out and enjoy it, take it all in.

Q. Because of the year you've had and the nature of this event and how it grows every two years, the noise and the fervor that's going to follow you around is going to be possibly unique. Most people would see you as the kind of character that would grow into that and revel in it; is that correct, or would you be wary of it, as well?

RORY McILROY: I think you're right, I'm the sort of character that would enjoy that, enjoy that environment, enjoy being in the spotlight, I guess, and being one of the guys that sort of everyone is focusing on. I like that. I'll embrace that, and it comes as part of what I've done this year and who I am. Being No. 1 in the world and all that comes with that, you expect that and you just try to handle it as best that you can.

Q. Is there anything in particular from Fergie about that? He knows crowds and stuff; did you speak with him about that?

RORY McILROY: Not about crowds in general. We play in front of big crowds week-in, week-out. That's something that it's more expectation and everything. And United were obviously favorites and whenever he was managing, they made Old Trafford a bit of a fortress. And when teams went there, it was very hard to compete against United. He was just talking a bit about that. We're slight favorites for a reason. We deserve to be. We've played well this year. It's not something that we should shy away from. It's something that we should embrace.

Q. On the same subject, I think you had Gareth Edwards speak to you at Celtic Manor. You've had motivational people come in before; does it work? Obviously the proof is in the pudding. Do you think it has an effect on you guys?

RORY McILROY: I think it does, of course. Whenever you get someone from outside your environment or outside of golf or whatever, the one thing that I remember about Celtic Manor is we all got on a conference call with Seve, and that was - that's the one that I - that was incredible, all of us huddled around this little speakerphone and Seve just rallying the troops. That was incredible. Those things do help, those things really do. It galvanizes us and brings us together, especially something like that.

Seve was back in Spain and couldn't travel; he obviously wasn't feeling too well at that time. And then something like last night, as well. Okay, everyone might not be a Man-United fan, but at the same time, everyone has to respect what Alex Ferguson has done and what he's done in his career and how successful. These things, they help. They are little details in the bigger picture, but it would be that half a per cent or that one per cent that helps us to get back that little trophy.

Q. I realize this could encompass a whole lot of things, but how different do you feel to the way you did this time last year?

RORY McILROY: A lot different. This time last year, I was coming off the back of a pretty disappointing season on both Tours, really. I didn't make it to the Tour Championship. I was - yeah, it's completely different, and it's amazing what can happen in a year. I've always said, golf is such a fickle game. Whenever you are playing bad, you wonder how you ever played so well, and then whenever you're playing well, you wonder why you've ever played so badly. It can come and go so quickly, especially for me for some reason. But yeah, I'm in a much better place this time this year than I was last year, and as I said at the start, I'm just excited to be back for the Ryder Cup, and excited to try and win it for the third time in a row.

Q. If Europe wins this week, is there a danger of the competitive credibility of the Ryder Cup being damaged by European domination?

RORY McILROY: Even if we win this week, we're still a long way behind what the U.S. have done over the years. No, not at all. You look at the records, and I mean, I think the States won, I don't know how many in a row at one stage. We've still got a long way to go. Europe has still got a long way to go to catch up with America, and even though we've been successful, the last few, that doesn't mean that things can change, but I definitely don't think it will put into any doubt the competitive nature of the Ryder Cup or people will lose interest because it's such a great event. It brings people together and - no. The United States Team are very strong and I don't want to get into if we win this week and what will happen. The Ryder Cup will go on whether Europe wins or loses, and it will be just as big and just as great an event either way.

MODERATOR: We'll leave it there, thank you, Rory

The transcript for the above interview is courtesy of ASAP Sports.