WGC - CA Championship

Article Posted: 10th March 2010

Rory has made the short journey from Palm Beach where he finished in a tie for 40th place in the Honda Classic, to Doral on the outskirts of Miami. He plays in the WGC - CA Championship over the famous Blue Monster Course at Doral Golf and Country Club. In this event last year he finished in a tie for 20th.

Rory tees off from the 10th on Thursday at 11.56 alongside defending champion Phil Mickelson and South Africa's Retief Goosen. They tee off from the 1st on Friday at 12.59.

Please scroll down to read Rory's pre-tournament press conference.

PAUL SYMES: Thank you for coming in, Rory. Obviously a big week this week, your thoughts coming into it.

RORY McILROY: Yeah, I feel as if I'm playing -- I definitely feel as if I'm hitting the ball better this week than I was last week. I found something on the range Saturday night at Honda, and you know, I worked pretty hard yesterday on the range, and played nine holes today and hit a few balls. I feel as if that's coming around, because obviously I wasn't hitting too many balls the last few weeks with my back and everything.
On the plus side my short game is really good. I missed a lot of greens last week and feel as if my short game is good, so that's a positive. I feel pretty good. I'm excited about my draw this week, playing with Phil and Retief. It should be a great week.

PAUL SYMES: Phil, defending champion, maybe can give you some tips?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's great. I played with Phil the first two rounds at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai and November there, and I really enjoyed it. I think we enjoyed each other's company. It was good fun, and obviously he played pretty well.

PAUL SYMES: And you played fairly well yourself last year in your first visit here, and the course has got a bit of a reputation; you've obviously coped quite well with it.

RORY McILROY: Yeah, I've been coming to Honda and Doral, I know the resort pretty well and feel comfortable with the whole place here. I love the golf course. It's a big golf course. You've got to drive it well, and usually quite a low score wins. You can go for your shots and be aggressive.

Q....