Rory McIlroy Thursday Flash Interview 2024 Tour Championship © PGA Tour

it's not getting any cooler boy it's not it's not um yeah look August in the South this is I mean it's geez we've been I've been coming back here for 12 years so it's to be expected but yeah it was it was hot and humid and um yeah it's just you know this week's all about just trying to conserve as much energy as possible and um I think it's going to get a little cooler the weekend which is nice but you know I'm happy with how I hung in there and had a good finish and um yeah when I saw Scotty had gotten to 14 I was like ah got to try to just hang on to the coals a little bit so still feel like I've got a chance and um you know it was nice to finish the way I did what are your thoughts on the restoration uh I I so I I love the restoration I love the golf course um it's probably six months away from being perfect just because of the firmness of the greens um but I've I've I've always like Andrew Green work I like what he did at Congressional I like what he did at oakill I like um you know some of the other things I I haven't been there physically but I've but I've seen I I like that the ball repels um you know off the greens I like that it gives you options I think a lot of these aprons it really gives guys a chance to to to sort of shine and show how good their short games are um because you can play all sorts of different chips and um you you can putt it you can bump it you can fly it and try to spin it so I I love that I love that side of it um and yeah I mean I think he's probably made it a little less penal off the tea just by clearing some of the trees but then I think he's made it a little more penal around the green so I think overall I don't think the course plays that much differently apart from the par five 14th um but I I really I I like what he's done and I like golf courses that sort of stretch the playing areas and expand the playing areas a little bit and um you know I thought he's I think he's done a great job he talked a lot this week players talk a lot this about the F of the yeah did you find that to be the cas yeah it's uh it's it's hard it's hard to you know I hit like a little I hit a little three4 uh gap wedge into the 15th there and you know you think that a shot like that normally will sort of stop dead and that one for me um it probably ran out 35 40 ft you know so you have to hit just feels like you got to hit full shots into these greens with as much spin as possible to try to get the ball to to come to to come to rest as soon as you can gy um Jay spoke to us yesterday obviously he got asked about the negotiations and we're not going to get a whole lot but but he one thing he did say was one of his comments was is the goal is to bring the best players back together more often and yet here we are with sort of almost seems like like from the outside no ended sight um do you have any sense for are you at all frustrated it's taking this long and yeah of course I think anyone that cares about golf um I think has to be frustrated uh you know and I think anyone that cares about the PJ tour has to be frustrated because we're we the Royal Wii were're not putting forward the absolute best product that we can because you know and you I get the argument that these guys laugh and like that was their choice and whatever but I just think that it's gone on long enough that you know we got to try to I mean I I I mean I I think everyone is trying to find a solution it's just a solution is hard to it's hard to get to but um yeah I mean I I go back to you know even though I was on the wrong side of things like the US Open with you know Bry and I you know you're only really going to get that four times a year uh at most and you know I I think the game of golf deserves having you know those sort of things happen more than just four times a year do you think that if it doesn't happen soon something doesn't happen soon we run the risk of you know knowing that it's not that easy to make this all happen that 2026 is going to pass Us by or you know yeah uh I think if it does doesn't happen soon then honestly I I think I think piff and uh the Saudis are going to have to look at alternative options right I think that's probably the I'd say that's the next step in all this if if something doesn't get done thank you thanks Rory thank you