PGA TOUR COUNTDOWN™
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PGA TOUR COUNTDOWN™
Rory McIlroy's Winning Strategies at the Wells Fargo Championship and Preparing for the PGA Championship
Get ready to explore the triumphs and techniques behind Rory McIlroy's stunning victory at the Wells Fargo Championship, where he notched his 26th PGA Tour win. We're bringing you a special episode featuring insights from the man himself, as he breaks down the key components of his game that led him to success at Quail Hollow. Discover how Rory's recent win with Shane Lowry at Zurich has supercharged his confidence, especially with his driving, which proved crucial on the course. Plus, we'll hear from Xander Schauffele, who, despite facing his own hurdles, admires McIlroy's exceptional performance and shares his determination to sharpen his short game for future triumphs.
As we aim our sights at the upcoming PGA Championship at Valhalla, McIlroy reflects on the emotional and technical journey that's shaped his game. He candidly discusses his battle through self-doubt, the tweaks to his strategy, and the Charlotte crowd's unwavering support that propelled him forward. Rory also gives us a glimpse into his preparation for the major challenges that lie ahead in Louisville, including the evolution of his iron shots that could make all the difference. Join us for a riveting conversation with one of golf's greats, and take away some inspiration for your own path to victory, whether on the fairways or in the game of life.
This is PGA TOUR COUNTDOWN, and here we go. Welcome to PGA TOUR COUNTDOWN. It is the end of the Wells Fargo Championship and Roy McIlroy is your winner. It was close but not so close. It was good but not so good, but it was a good finish. And it is over and now we are moving toward the PGA Championship. We'll be there live from Valhalla this next week and giving you all the insights that we can pull together, steve Elkington and myself, along with Jason Duffner, who will be playing, but former champion Duffner will be joining us also. So it's going to be a good week. But let's talk about the Wells Fargo Championship and let's more than talk about it, let's move right into some of the interviews post-round from well, xander Shoffley and Roy McIlroy. So let's do it.
Speaker 2:How do you assess your play today?
Speaker 3:Mixed bag for sure. I mean he played unbelievable. He looked up to the board and I was like dang, he played unbelievable. You know, he was looked up to the board and I was like dang, he's eight on. You know, he's six under through, six on the back, nine. It's pretty, it's something else. So, with that being said, it was yeah, I mean overall I felt like I was doing pretty well for most of the day and then had that costly stretch and he capitalized like no other.
Speaker 2:So a big, uh big reversal there is there as a golfer, as someone you see a whole lot. Is there an appreciation? Not, I mean not appreciation, but is there just you see that and it's incredible? Or are you just so focused on your own game that you're not really looking at what he's? I mean when you take a step back.
Speaker 3:you take a step back. Yeah, I mean, he's Roy McIlroy. You know he hits it 350 yards in the air downwind and he has shorter clubs and firm greens than anyone else, and when he's on, he's on, you know. So hats off to him for winning. And yeah, I mean, he played unbelievably well.
Speaker 2:You talk about this making the next one sweeter. What do you feel like you take away from this?
Speaker 3:yeah, I mean I, I felt like I controlled the ball off the tee extremely well. Some of those fairways are pretty daunting. Um hit some incredible iron shots that you know I haven't been able to do for quite some time. You know, right to left and left to right. So overall, um, I just need to clean up my short game. It's always been a deciding factor when I win a tournament or not, sort of a trigger stat for me, and it definitely hurt, hurt me today. Yeah, cool, thank you, thanks.
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Speaker 4:All right, we'll go ahead and get started. We'd like to welcome Rory McIlroy, champion of the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, into the interview room. Rory, congratulations on your fourth win at the Wells Fargo Championship and your 26th on the PGA Tour.
Speaker 5:If we could just get an opening comment on what this one means to you, yeah, yeah, I don't know what's more unbelievable, you know, winning a PGA Tour event for the fourth time or getting my 26th. Whenever I sort of hit some of these milestones or do these things, I always think back to, for example, 20-year-old me playing in this tournament for the first time, and if I hadn't known back then that this is the way everything was going to pan out, I probably wouldn't have believed you. So, um, yeah, anytime things like this happen, I just I feel incredibly lucky and grateful that I have the opportunity to do what I do and, um, you know, I was able to play good enough golf today to to take advantage of that opportunity.
Speaker 4:Wins in your last two starts, you moved up to number four in the FedEx Cup. How much confidence do you have now moving forward and how much of these two wins done opportunity Wins in your last two starts, you moved up to number four in the FedEx Cup. How much confidence?
Speaker 5:do you have now moving forward and how much of these two wins done for your season? Yeah, they've done a lot, I think you know. Getting the win at Zurich with Shane was a big confidence builder for both of us and I definitely took a lot from it, especially with how I played at the weekend there. And I think this week was just a continuation of how I felt. I felt like I drove the ball incredibly well at New Orleans, especially over the weekend. I drove the ball great again this week and historically this is a golf course that lets you hit driver a lot and you can really take advantage of length off the tee if you have it. So you know it's one of the big factors why I've been able to do so well here over the years. And you know, combine that with you know how comfortable I felt with my short game and my putting this week and you know I'm able to you know, to put runs together on this golf course. That you course that has enabled me to win here for the fourth time.
Speaker 4:All right, we'll take some questions out here. If you have a question, we'll get a microphone to you. We'll start with Ron.
Speaker 6:Congrats, Roy. Thank you. When's the last time your game felt this good? Does it come to mind immediately?
Speaker 5:Yeah, there's been times. I think there was a stretch last summer sort of like Memorial, canada, us Open, travelers, scottish Open Open. So probably right around last summer is when it felt. But I think this actually feels a little bit better than that. But yeah, it hasn't been too long ago. You know, I've had, I feel like my 22 and 23 seasons were pretty good years and felt pretty comfortable with my game for the most part for those two years. And then, you know, I just went through a bit of a quiet spell there for, you know, a couple of months at the start of this year. But I feel like I'm back where I need to be.
Speaker 7:Rory, that quiet spell you just alluded to, what do you think was missing?
Speaker 5:I don't know. I think part of it was technical. I was missing a lot of shots left. I think that was really it. And then not missing those shots left, not having full confidence in what I was doing with my swing, and that sort of bleeds into the rest of your game. I've always said, whenever I'm driving the ball well and hitting the ball well, I think it goes the other way and it feeds into my short game and my putting and I can get confidence from that. So it just needed like a little spark and I think getting that spark there was signs of life San Antonio, augusta but getting that little spark in New Orleans and getting the win there with Sheehan definitely gave me a lot of confidence.
Speaker 7:Will you go straight to Louisville or do you go home? How do you plan to approach getting ready?
Speaker 5:I'll probably go home and just sort of reset and then head up to Louisville either tomorrow night or Tuesday morning.
Speaker 6:Hey, rory, congratulations. Fourth went out here. How long until you buy a house out here at Willow?
Speaker 5:Must say I do go on Zillow quite a lot and look at some of the properties around here. But no, I'm, you know, I'm pretty set in Florida right now, but I love coming back here, I love spending time here. It's a place that I'm very comfortable at with Quail Hollow, the city of Charlotte in general and the people, for whatever reason, I get so much great support here. But for whatever reason I get so much great support here, I said it on the 18th green after I won there, that all these people have sort of watched me grow up. I won here for the first time as a 20-year-old and now at 35. So they've sort of seen my progression throughout the years and I've sort of grown up in front of their eyes and I think that's one of the reasons I get a lot of support here too.
Speaker 6:On a more serious note, you were 59th in driving accuracy, but still turned around to be first in strokes gained off the tee, second in scrambling, second in proximity. What do you attribute that to?
Speaker 5:Yeah, I would say that even the fairways I missed, I didn't miss them by a lot, I didn't miss them by much. I felt like I drew the ball really, really well this week. You know, and the distances that you know, that I can hit it. It's hard to hit those fairways at times but you know, if you're in the first cutter, just off the fairway, it's a pretty good drive and I was able to take advantage of that distance. You know especially, you know and I think that you know this course more than maybe any other on tour you know I can hit driver pretty much on every hole, which isn't the case for a lot of other golf courses. So it's nice to have that advantage.
Speaker 4:Sean.
Speaker 2:Returning to Valhalla, there's always kind of the look back at the old explosive Rory and this newer, more consistent. Did any part of this feel like that old Rory?
Speaker 5:Yeah, when you play any at all, stretching it under par, it feels a little like that. But no, I mean I've been. I've been sort of banging this drum for the last few years, but I'm a way better player now than I was back then. Yeah, I haven't had the major record to back that up, but I've had the wins. I've done everything else there is to do in the game since 2014. The only thing I need to do is get another major, and a win like this going into the PGA Championship next week is a good way to prep for that.
Speaker 2:I know you said that driving it well frees you up, but was there anything, as we get nearer to Valhalla, approach-wise, or anything that sort of, maybe helped you unlock this eight-under and eight stretch that you played?
Speaker 5:Yeah, I think so. You know. I would say the two best shots I hit today were the three-quarter 8-iron into 9 and the 9-iron into 13. You know just really good iron shots when I needed to hit them, you know. So that gives me more satisfaction and more confidence than any of the drives that I hit out there.
Speaker 8:That gives me more satisfaction and more confidence than any of the drives that I hit out there. Rory, the birdie that you made on nine to draw level with Xander, was that really kind of the moment that you said, okay, I've got nine holes left and I love this place, this is where I can go. And you obviously went a little crazy there with the eagles on the back nine, but is that the kind of jumping off point that you needed?
Speaker 5:to really run away with this. I think it was probably the hole before. So I hit it into that sort of little pine straw area under the tree left of the eighth. Xander hits it up in good position just left of the green. I chip it up there to 10 feet, xander chips it to 8 feet. I make it, he misses. So I cut the deficit to one and I think just getting the honor back on the ninth tee was a big moment. Yeah, just mentally. And then to hit the drive in the second shot that I did, yeah, I mean it was a big moment to draw level with him going into the back nine. But I, you know, I think I was able to do that because of the. You know the putt I made on it, you know the hole before.
Speaker 7:Rory the eagle the second eagle on 15, when you threw it into the crowd. If you could describe the shot and then the aftermath and why you did that.
Speaker 6:If you could describe the shot and then the aftermath and why you did that, yeah.
Speaker 5:so I would say the bunker shot was relatively straightforward. It was one of the best lies I'd had in a bunker all week Slide up, slope, just needed to splash it out. The slope was sort of right to left going, so I wasn't thinking of holing it, but I was thinking that I could get it within top end range and make an easy birdie. Uh, yeah, and then when it dropped in and you know, I don't know why I threw it in there. It's something that I've done over the years and, um, yeah, it felt good we talked earlier this week.
Speaker 7:You said pretty good expectations of having success here, given your record. You achieved something great today. Now you're going to Valhalla where you've won. How do you manage expectations heading into next week?
Speaker 5:It's really funny. So, going into Valhalla in 2014, I'd won my last two starts, and going into this year, I've won my last two starts, so just need to try to replicate whatever I did in 2014. Just try to do that all over again. But yeah, I mean I think, yeah, I'm feeling really good with my game. I need to stay in my own little world next week and not get too far ahead of myself, but if I can step onto the first tee at Valhalla on Thursday and feel as good about my game as I did today, I think I'll have a good chance.
Speaker 6:Rory, as you know, this was the last tournament with Wells Fargo as the sponsor. Excuse me, what do you think the chances are that Charlotte remains a regular stop on the PGA Tour? I'm assuming you would like that idea.
Speaker 5:I think the chances are very high yeah.
Speaker 4:Sean, you need the microphone over here please.
Speaker 2:After the tee shots on four and six. You're walking down six and kind of making some swings and didn't seem really happy with things. Maybe was there a key that you unlocked that led to the stretch going from eight on yeah, I um the first few holes.
Speaker 5:I just didn't have great yardages. I had a good yardage on one was a perfect just gap wedge, um. But on four and on six it was like like there were like three-quarter shots and they weren't quite. I just didn't you know what we talked about with my swing and trying to sync up the upper and the lower body on the way through. I find that a lot easier to do with a full shot or a full swing rather than like a three-quarter. So it was more just. But then to you know, so it was more that I just didn't have great numbers, the first few holes. But then, as I said, that three-quarter he had ironed into nine was like a. You know, that was a huge confidence booster to make a swing like that and make birdie Mike.
Speaker 8:Roy, we started the week with you before the tournament started. You were asked a lot of questions about the player board and everything and that was obviously that's been on your mind. It's been on a lot of people's minds to finish out the week with this win. And how are you kind of balancing now, I guess, the emotions of hey, I can play some pretty good golf and compartmentalize the off-the-course stuff? I mean, it seems like there's a lot that could be swirling between your ears right now in all those aspects.
Speaker 5:Yeah, there is. But at the same time I think getting inside the ropes for that four or five hours or whatever it is a day, it's a nice escape from everything else that's going on in the world of golf, so I don't mind it. I've always been able to compartmentalize pretty well and I seem to, for whatever reason, play very good golf whenever I have a lot of stuff going on. So I don't know if I need that just to really, when I get on the course, really focus on what I'm doing out there. But yeah, it seems to work.
Speaker 4:Any other questions? All right, Rory, congratulations and best of luck next week. Thank you.
Speaker 5:Thank you.
Speaker 1:So there you go, it's from Charlotte, north Carolina, to Louisville, kentucky, for the PGA Championship. It was an interesting signature event, wasn't it? Interesting comments, a lot of stuff going on in the world of golf right now between the PGA Tour, between the USGA, between the PGA of America and between Live Golf, and we're going to bring you more of that from Golf Talk America and the PGA Tour Countdown. But thank you for listening to this edition of PGA Tour Countdown Wrap. I'm Frank Bassett and we thank you for listening. We appreciate each and every one of you and we will catch you in the grill room. Thank, you.