Q. How would you describe that 66?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, it was good. I played, I sort of played similarly to how I played yesterday, I just played the par-5s better. I played the par-5s in even par yesterday and I played them in 3-under today and that's the difference between the two scores. So yeah it was good. I drove it as well as I did yesterday, hit a couple of loose ones on the way in. I putted nicely. Iron play was pretty good. So pretty pleased.
Q. Distance on 14 on the second?
RORY MCILROY: 304 to the pin, 288 to the front. Just a little cut 3-wood for you.
Q. When did you settle on that putter model and what's been the benefits of it?
RORY MCILROY: I think I sort of want to get back to being as athletic and instinctive as possible and I feel like that style of putter, that blade, it sort of helps me do that. It makes me become very target oriented, at the hole and having my focus be out there, instead of in here (Indicating). So that's the reason. I've had a lot of success with that style of putter and I've messed around with that putter all during the lock down last year I putted with that thing, I was just messing around and I mess around with it at home and I just thought I may as well bring it with me and see how it goes.
Q. Does it remind you of a younger you?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, it does. Yeah, it does.
Q. Shane's just finished at 7-under as well, so you could be playing with him tomorrow. How special would that be?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, it's good. Actually I asked our team manager on the 16th today, I said I didn't know if fellow country men could actually play together in this, I didn't know if that was like a rule but he said yeah. So if that happens, that would be good fun.
Q. How would it be if the two of you both got a medal for Ireland?
RORY MCILROY: Be unbelievable.
Q. As much as Saturday is kind of your traditional moving day so to speak, how important was today for you to at least keep in distance?
RORY MCILROY: The goal today was to sort of get back in touch. Sepp shooting 8-under yesterday was I think it showed everyone what was out there and yeah, I mean that was my thing, I just wanted to get into contention going into the weekend and at least feel like I was still a part of the tournament and I've done that.
Q. When you left St. George's what did you feel you had to work on in your game the most?
RORY MCILROY: My mental game more than anything else. I think all the tools are there physically, I just mentally there was a few things over the weekend at St. George's like even getting off to that hot start on Saturday and not being able to keep it going and then I mean the two tee shots I hit off 14 on the weekend were absolutely horrific and I just, it was more a mental thing, it's more just I'm crapping myself about hitting it out of bounds right and I hit it so far left with a 3-iron and then like I chunked a 2-iron on Sunday as well. So I just, I was just thinking too much about consequences and when you do that you're not as effortless you're not as free you're not as athletic and instinctive, all that sort of stuff. So I actually needed to get away from the game for a little bit so I didn't touch the clubs for most of the week and I was leaving Monday morning and I thought Saturday afternoon I better go out and reconnect myself a little bit and that was it. But I needed to get away, it was a busy stretch of golf through there and I just mentally wasn't in the right place to play my best golf just in terms of worrying too much about where not to hit it instead of concentrating on where to hit it.
Q. Yesterday when you were talking about now you have more tools in your mental tool box is that an example of it right there what you just said?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, there's little, yeah, that's not -- I mean he that's more, that's golf, right, that's just more a golf thing. I mean just in terms of the every day stressors of life I think I was talking more to that.
Q. (No Microphone.)
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I mean like remove myself from social media and I think that's -- I mean I think one of the big reasons why people are talking so much about mental health right now is because how prevalent social media is. There is a correlation there. I think that's removing myself from that has been a massive step forward for me.
Q. When you're playing your best how quickly do you get over the shots you just talked about at Royal St. George's?
RORY MCILROY: When I'm playing my best I don't hit those shots. I think that's the thing. When I'm playing my best I don't even hit those shots.
Q. (No Microphone.)
RORY MCILROY: It's really cool. She obviously played great at the U.S. Open at Olympic and won and I got to meet her the week after at Torrey Pines and she gave me assigned flag and wrote a nice little note on it to me and I've got that in my house now, which is cool, we have sort of -- I sort of knew of her the U.S. Open previously when they played in Texas and that's when they were making the comparisons with the swings and I mean it's just really cool that I've been able to inspire someone to go on and achieve one of the biggest things in their game, which is win a major championship. So that's a really cool feeling. And it's great for her to be here and I thought this was going to be the first place that we might have connected, but we met at Torrey Pines a couple months ago, which was nice.
Q. Just reading words from afar, it almost seemed like you were indifferent about these Olympics and about Patrick Reed.
RORY MCILROY: I'm very indifferent about Patrick Reed (laughing).
Q. Not necessarily excited, just kind of, yeah, I'm coming, but nothing more than that. Is that a fair assessment or how would you describe it?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah and it's funny, when you sort of approach tournaments like that, it's funny how you end up playing some of your best golf. Sometimes you can want things too much and then other times you're sort of -- but I think I said this yesterday -- once I've been here and I've gotten the -- I never obviously never competed in an Olympic games, I watched them from a far, but I said this yesterday, being a part of something that's completely different and bigger than me and even our sport in general, that's a pretty cool thing. So I didn't know if this was going to be my only Olympics that I play or whatever and I'm already looking forward to Paris.
Q. Not so much on the how you performed looking forward to it as much as just --
RORY MCILROY: Just the experience. And obviously this is a very watered down experience compared to what it usually is so I'm looking forward to three years time.
Q. How many different events would you have been to?
RORY MCILROY: The one thing that's on tonight that I would love to go the one thing I've always wanted to go and see is dressage. Always. I just, I it's mesmerizing and it's on tonight at like 7:30. I'll watch it on TV. I just think, I watch it once every few years, obviously and it's like, I don't know, it's just, it's mesmerizing and it's really cool. I don't know.
Q. You missed your calling in life.
RORY MCILROY: There you go.
Q. (No Microphone.)
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, definitely. I think there's no you lack at some of the courses I've done well at, Quail Hollow, Akron, they're sort of similar to this where, yes, there's trouble off the tees but it's not looking at white stakes or red hazards, there's trees and there's whatever, but you can figure out a way to get around them and chip out and I like that. Torrey Pines.
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