What he said: All the quotes from the final round of the Open
Rory McIlroy (2014 Open Champion)
“It feels absolutely incredible. It’s sort of cool that they put your name on there even before you get it. So that was a nice little touch.
“Yeah, it’s been an incredible week. I’m happy I gave myself enough of a cushion today, because there was a lot of guys coming at me, especially Sergio and Rickie.
“Just to be sitting here and looking at this thing and having my name on it, it’s a great feeling. It obviously hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m going to enjoy it and let it sink in tonight in the company of my friends and family.
“I’m immensely proud of myself. To sit here 25 years of age and win my third Major Championship and be three-quarters of the way to the career Grand Slam, yeah, I never dreamed of being at this point in my career so quickly.
“Especially being someone from around here — The Open Championship was the one you really wanted growing up, and the one you holed so many putts on the putting green to win, to beat Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els, whatever. Didn’t quite need to hole a putt today to do it, just a little tap-in, which was nice.
“As I said there at the start, it hasn’t really sunk in left. The more I keep looking at this trophy and seeing my name on it, the more it will starting sinking in.
“I’ve really found my passion again for golf. Not that it ever dwindled, but it’s what I think about when I get up in the morning. It’s what I think about when I go to bed.
“I just want to be the best golfer that I can be. And I know if I can do that, then trophies like this are within my capability. I’d love to win a lot more and really looking forward to — even though there’s still one major left this year that I want to desperately try and win, I looking forward to next April and trying to complete the career Grand Slam.”
Rickie Fowler (Tied 2nd. Surely a matter of time before he wins a major)
“Rory just kind of distanced himself from the field a bit, especially with his finish yesterday. It’s hard to be disappointed about it, because it was such a great week. And with the way I had been playing in the majors, there was some pressure to play well this week.
“But with how comfortable I’ve been, I mentioned yesterday, it doesn’t feel like a big stage. It feels like I should be here. I’m definitely pleased with it. There’s plenty more to come.
“I’ll take 15-under in a lot of majors and sit there and wait in the clubhouse. Congratulations to Rory. He played awesome. And it was just kind of fun to throw a few shots at him coming in. To see him win was pretty cool.”
Sergio Garcia (A brave 66 not quite enough for the Spaniard)
“It’s difficult when you’re in a situation where you know you can’t make a mistake. It just puts that little extra pressure. So many good things happened throughout this week. And even today I got a couple of really good breaks. It was close. It was close.
“At least I’m proud of the way I played. I wanted to at least make him feel a little bit and see how he would respond. And he obviously responded well. Because I got within two, but every time I got closer, he kept making one birdie and not letting me get any closer than that.
“Overall I thought it was a great week, and just deserved.”
Adam Scott (So near but yet so far for the world number one)
“I still feel like I probably could have done a better job of limiting the damage on Friday when it was pretty tough out there. And I did by shooting 1-over. But I could have shot a few better than that.
“And then I could have done better yesterday on the front nine, as well. It was a slow start when everyone was really going gangbusters. That’s the way it is. Momentum is such a big thing. And I had a very stagnant 27 holes in the middle of a tournament. It’s tough to recover from.”
Graeme McDowell – (Asked about Rory after his -10 got him in the top 10)
“I used the word “jealousy,” which I think what I really meant was “envious.” Envious, because I’d love to walk down the 18th fairway with an opportunity to win the Claret Jug. And huge amount of appreciation for what he’s doing, respect for what he is in the game of golf, and how good he is for the game of golf.
“So great stuff. It’s been an interesting day, because enough wind to make it tough, but enough wind to keep it scorable, as well.
“Nice to hang in there and I kind of asked myself what happened on Thursday with my back nine performance, because Friday, Saturday, Sunday, the back nine has been really kind to me. And what I’d not give to go back to the 10th tee and start again on Thursday. But that’s golf.”
Marc Leishman (Super Sunday for the Australian who makes the top 5)
“Yeah, I’m really happy. It’s a tournament I haven’t done well at in the past. I love this style of golf. I love links golf. But for some reason just hadn’t played any good.
“So to get something down here, especially today, it was a solid week before today, but today made it a really good week.
“It gives me confidence for the rest of this year and coming back to British Opens in the future, knowing that if I play good, I have a chance to contend.”
Shane Lowry – (Took the clubhouse lead on -10 with a 65)
“To shoot 65 in the final round of the major, especially when you’re looking at the top of the leaderboard makes me feel good about myself.
“I know if I have a chance down the line that is there, and I can play the golf. I’m pretty pleased with myself.
“I said to Dermot (caddy) on the last, “If I can hole this, strange things happen in golf. You never know.” It was a little bit left, it was a little bit short. I didn’t want to run it too far past.
“Great week, and enjoyed every minute it. And a couple of mistakes here and there, but that’s going to happen. And for most of the week I played pretty good golf.”
Chris Wood – (Stunning 65 for the Bristolian to finish -5)
“You should have seen me the first three rounds. I couldn’t see a 75 the first three days, let alone a 65.
“But I stayed up late with Mitch, my coach, last night, until about half 11 on the sofa, just trying to chat things through and trying to find the root cause of the problem.
“We’ve been on the range after every day struggling through it, not quite finding the problem. But, yeah, last night I’d say we really got to the bottom of it and I was a different player today.”
Tiger Woods (Slumped to +6 with another disappointing round)
“I got four rounds in. Unfortunately I didn’t play very well today. It was a little different than it was on the first day, obviously. But, again, I just made too many mistakes. I had two triples, two doubles. 2 or 3 three-putts this week, just way too many mistakes.
“The fact I was able to play a few weeks ahead of time, and I’m only getting stronger and faster, which is great. I just had to get more game time.
“I think we did the smart thing by not playing too much leading into this event, just want to assess how my back was. And where I need to strengthen, how I need to go about it, how to gain my explosiveness again, and all that’s come along.”
Tom Watson (Another classy effort from the USA Ryder Cup captain)
“Yeah, that was a good day. I enjoyed that, that was good. Very good.
“It does give me encouragement for the Senior Open. I don’t know anything about the golf course, but it’s fun to finish with a birdie and finish the way I did, and get ready to go to the next tournament.
“You feel lighter. You don’t feel heavy. You don’t feel like you have a burden that you’re taking with you. Keep it running, keep the engine running, if you can. Wake up every morning not in too much pain and go from there.
“If he’s (Tiger Woods) playing well and in good health, I’ll pick him. But the caveat to that is if he does make the FedExCup team, what do I do then? That’s not here yet.”
James Savage
Former equipment editor of NCG. Inconsistent ball-striker and tea-maker.
