Q. A bit of everything, 1-under par through 11 and a burst of birdies coming in. Overall what's your verdict?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think it was a day where you really had to take advantage of the par 5s. They were your scoring opportunities. The back nine for the most part played downwind, so there was maybe some other chances.
But that front nine, I think especially by the time we teed off and some of the leaders, it was very, very difficult and very tricky to pick a club and commit to what you were doing. The wind was up-and-down; so hard to trust the wind was going to do what you thought it was going to do.
Yeah, I stayed as patient as I could and feel like that patience was rewarded over the last few holes. Good birdie on 12. And then I always feel like the end of this golf course gives you a chance to salvage maybe a tougher, frustrating day, and I was able to do that with playing those last two holes 3-under.
Q. Even by your standards, the second shot to 18 was exceptional. Describe it for me.
RORY McILROY: Basically a similar shot to what I had yesterday. I had a 4-iron. Wind was mostly off the right, maybe a touch into, 230 yards. It was a perfect -- it was a 4-iron where I could just hold it into the wind slightly. Just needed to stand up and make a good, committed swing, and I did. And obviously a great way to finish the day and keep myself within touching distance of the leaders.
Q. Last time I looked, there were 18 guys within three shots. You've won this tournament before with a final round of 66. How do you approach tomorrow mentally and tactically?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's going to be an interesting day. As you say, there's a lot of people around the lead, I think the conditions the last couple of days, that's the reason it hasn't let anyone get away from the pack just because it has played so tricky and difficult.
Probably one of those days where you need to set a score for yourself or set a target for the front nine, and then as you enter the back nine, see where you stand and see what you need to do. I'll probably try to not look at the leaderboards the front nine, and if I need to play a little bit more aggressive on the back, I'll do it.
Q. Thoughts on the opportunity to win your second BMW PGA Championship, Flagship Event of the DP World Tour, and potentially overtake Patrick Reed at the top of the leaderboard?
RORY McILROY: I have a big opportunity tomorrow on both front. I'd love to win this tournament again. It's been a long time, 12 years.
I have so many great memories of Wentworth in general. I came here for the first time as a 10-year-old to watch The World Match Play all the way back in the day, and I came in -- it was always half-term. I always came with my mum and dad and watched this one.
Fast forward, I've won this event. I've played a lot here and we now have a house on the estate as well. This place has a lot of history for me. Hopefully I have a good chance and give myself a real chance at it again.
Q. Pretty special close to this course. How sweet was it to be able to make the absolute most of it for you today?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I needed to make the absolute most of it. Felt like I was stuck in neutral for the most part today. The nights thing with this go, you know you always have those last coupling up where there are birdie chances. I played them as good as I could have.
Yeah, I felt like -- I wanted at least a birdie to feel like I was touching distance going into tomorrow. But to make eagle and get to 11-under, see where the leaders finish coming in here. But I feel like I've given myself a real opportunity tomorrow.
Q. That approach, through all the crowd cheers and everything, talk us through it.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I had a 4-iron from 230 yards. It was a perfect number for me. I could fight the wind with it a little bit to get to land soft. I stood up and made a good, committed swing. I felt I was either long or short all day today. It was nice to get a good number.
Yeah, stayed up there, made my best swing of the day and obviously a great way to finish.
Q. You mentioned the closing stretch and knowing what you can potentially achieve if you need to pick up shots. How does that play out with you when you are approaching that stretch?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I was one over through 11 today, and Harry said to me, we can definitely play these last few holes in 5-under, the three par 5s, and then everything else coming in, 13, 14, 15, 16 are all downwind. You're hitting wedges, and I had a good opportunity at 16 that I didn't take. So like there are opportunities coming in. That first sort of 10 or 11 holes is very tough, as we've seep the leaders struggle with today.
But yeah, I think that's what makes this golf tournament so exciting is going into the back nine tomorrow, sort of anything can happen. Even if you're three or four back, you still feel like you have a decent chance.
Q. Where do you feel like you are within your game, your swing, heading into tomorrow and potentially contending?
RORY McILROY: I wouldn't say I'm a hundred percent pleased with where everything is but it's certainly good enough. It's good enough to hit the shots when needed, and I may be can't play quite as free-wheeling as I'm used to at times. But I just think if I'm smart and make the right decisions, I know this golf course so well from over the years that I just manage myself and my game, I'll have a chance.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports