Q. Obviously not the day or the week that you wanted here, but can you sum up the season for you and what you've got coming up?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, the season is not over for me. I've still got a lot of golf coming up. I refuse to call this the end of the season.
But yeah, this week wasn't -- I hit it better. The things that I wanted to improve on this week, I did. Off the tee was much better. I'm probably leading strokes gained off the tee.
I just couldn't get the speed of the greens all week, and I struggled to see lines and to feel the speed. That was really the story of the week. My putting was so good last week at Caves and then my off the tee play wasn't good and it sort of just inverted.
I definitely improved from tee to green this week, and as I said, I just couldn't get a putt to drop. But my game feels close. It certainly isn't far away.
Q. I know we put a lot of emphasis on the majors all season long, but what does this next month stretch mean to you with Ireland and Wentworth and obviously the Ryder Cup?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it means a lot. Those are two big weeks for me to try to extend my lead in the Race to Dubai. That's become a pretty important thing for me. I'm chasing a little bit of history there. I want to put my head down and play well those couple weeks.
They're sort of like two home tournaments for me, Ireland being my national open, and then we live pretty much on the course at Wentworth.
Big couple weeks to try to play well but also sharpen up different aspects of the game going into the Ryder Cup.
Q. Did you think at all about your last trip to Georgia this week?
RORY McILROY: I actually did a couple of things for Augusta National this week. I didn't go there, but there was a couple things I had to do. I had the green jacket on for a few hours on Wednesday doing something. It was nice to reminisce. They made me cry again.
Q. Tommy has obviously still got nine holes left, but if he holds on here, to bounce back every time, what does it tell you about his mettle and resilience?
RORY McILROY: I think it shows how great of an attitude he has towards the game, how resilient he is. Look, everyone knows it's -- if he gets it done today, that would be amazing. I think we'd all love him to.
But if for some reason he doesn't, I think we all know it's only a matter of time. He's playing so well. He's been so consistent for so long. But look, I really hope he gets it done today.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports