BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

September 17, 2026

Rory McIlroy

Wentworth Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. What's the verdict after that? A bit of a stumble home but really good stuff early on.

RORY McILROY: Yeah, good way to put it, a stumble home. There was a lot of good stuff in there, 5-under through 10. It started to smash get a bit tricky. The wind is gusty out there and really any time the wind picks up, especially around Wentworth, it funnels into the trees.

You can start to get, not wind switches, but it just gets a bit blustery, and the ball can certainly get moved around a little bit in the air. So, yeah, I wish I was standing here a couple of shots better. That's what I will I feel should be, but overall, I saw some good signs in my game and saw some putts go in which was encouraging compared to last week. Definitely a score to build on as the week goes on.

Q. It's not often a Pro-Am performance catches our attention but you caught our attention yesterday. What was it, 60?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, I was -- yeah, again, I wish it was on a Thursday and not on a Wednesday. But yeah, look, I played well.

Again, like I think any time you play like that, whether it's in practice or a competitive round, you have to take some confidence from it. I saw some putts going in. I felt better with the putter than I did last week. I brought that feeling for the most part into today and a bit disappointed with the way I finished. But still a good score to build on and some very good signs in the game.

Q. In terms of the technical work you've been doing, it must feel like that's really starting to bed in now. Is that fair to say?

RORY McILROY: Yeah -- no, I don't think so. It's I think it's going to take a long time to get back to where I want to be. It feels -- I certainly have a playable feeling on the course. It definitely still looks better on the range than what I get out there on the course.

Over time, if I keep to what I'm doing, you know, it will hopefully start to bed in and it will start to feel and look similar on the course than it does on the range.

But these things take time. If it's taking me five or six months to get into this bad habit, it's probably going to take me, I'd say, a similar time to get back out of it. I'm giving myself time. There's plenty of time until I ramp up for the Masters again next year. But obviously in the meantime, there's a lot of golf to play and some stuff to win, and hopefully I can still give myself a chance at that as wall.

Q. One topic that bubbled up yesterday, any concerns about the season end in Dubai, given the current world situation?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, not for me. If the local governments feel like it's safe to put on these events, they are not going to put their citizens or people visiting in harm's way, I imagine. I love the Middle East. I have a lot of friends there, and I'm looking forward to going back for sure.