Q. Rory, how did you find the course out there especially the second nine which you saw for the first time?
RORY McILROY: Course is good. It's penal. If you miss fairways the rough is very, very thick. Yeah, and I didn't, I mean, I hit a few, but -- I certainly hit a few loose shots and got myself out of position and the golf course does start to get quite tricky from there. So need to do a better job of just putting my ball in play off the tee. Then from there the golf course is still quite scorable.
Q. After the last 48 hours, how refreshing was it, if anything, to get back to golf and just lose yourself in a round of golf?
RORY McILROY: It was good. Rosie and I said, All right, no chatting until lunch so that we can actually concentrate on what we're doing out there. We started to get in a conversation walking down the 1st and we're like, No, let's stop this. Let's just focus on our golf and we'll say what we want to say when we get inside. So it was nice to play a round of golf and focus on something else for those five hours we were out there.
Q. While you were out there, was it, I mean, I assume the air quality was, did you notice? It's hard not to.
RORY McILROY: No, it didn't feel quite as bad as it was on Tuesday, I guess. But, yeah it hasn't been, I didn't feel it that much today.
Q. How is your energy level after the last 48 hours and the various meetings and phone calls and interviews and everything you've had to do?
RORY McILROY: I got a good night's sleep last night. So it was nice to sort of recharge the batteries. I would say my energy levels on Tuesday and Wednesday were diminishing quite quickly. But I slept well last night and honestly felt -- it was an early start this morning. Alarm went at 4:15. But I felt good out there. I'll take a -- I'll do a little bit of practice this afternoon. Then I'll get another good night's sleep tonight and I'll be fine.
Q. The events of the past week, have they perhaps concerned you that you put your faith in maybe an altruistic version of the PGA TOUR that doesn't exist, at least maybe not anymore, and maybe you need to look after yourself a little more?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I'm, not that -- I wouldn't say I viewed the PGA TOUR as through that altruism lens per se. I mean, at the end of the day, this is business and my job is playing golf at the end of the day. So the more that I can focus on that and focus on the birdies and the bogeys instead of the stuff that's happened in the board room I'll be much happier.
Q. Do you have more pressure on the golf course or off right now?
RORY McILROY: Off, you know, the most uncomfortable I've felt in the last 12 months was my press conference yesterday.
Q. Do you have think thoughts or interest in getting to know or have any familiarity with the new chairman of the joint venture, Yasir?
RORY McILROY: I know Yasir.
Q. I mean, have you talked to him, played golf with him at all?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, so I played a pro-am with Yasir in Dubai a few years ago. And then I've seen him -- I was with him at a Formula 1 race randomly a couple years ago in Austin. I saw him in Dubai at the end of last year. So he's obviously been in and around the golf world and obviously the wider sports world. So he's sort of, he runs in the same circles as a lot of people that I know.
Q. How is he as a golfer and then maybe any other impressions of him sort of just as a guy?
RORY McILROY: I would say he's an avid golfer. I think he really does like the game of golf. He likes playing it. He's a very impressive man. Harvard Business School. Runs 7 or 800 billions worth of dollars and invested in a ton of different companies. He's a very smart, impressive man.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports