Day in the Life of Rory McIlroy: Q&A with the game's future

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Rory McIlroy (shown here at Whistling Straits) may have grown up in Northern Ireland, but he appreciates the continuity of the PGA TOUR schedule.

Editor's note: As part of our new Day in the Life of Series, PGATOUR.COM's Brian Wacker sat down for an exclusive Q&A with Rory McIlroy, who talked about taking on Tiger Woods in the Ryder Cup, his relationship with Darren Clarke and the super-fast cars he owns.

You recently said that you would love to face Tiger Woods in the Ryder Cup and that unless his game rapidly improves you think anyone on the European Ryder Cup team would fancy their chances against him. That's a pretty bold statement.

RORY MCILROY

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Coming off the two weeks he did have -- shooting 18 over at Firestone and 4 over at the AT&T National -- I'd say that there's not just Europeans but Americans that feel they're playing better than him at the minute. That's all I was saying.

Tiger Woods this year, not having practiced that much and not having played, is a lot easier to beat than the Tiger that was playing great 18 months ago.

Has the aura surrounding Tiger changed among the players?

It's definitely changed for me. There were guys saying when he shot 65 in the first round of The Barclays that he was back, but one round of golf doesn't mean that. He still has 14 majors, but instead of being the best player in the world he's one of the best players in the world now. And with everything out of the way now I'm sure he can concentrate on his game.

But he was the guy you grew up idolizing?

Yeah, I wanted to be like him and I had a poster of him on my bedroom wall.

You're not intimidated by him or haven't been?

I haven't had the experiences that Sergio [Garcia] or Ernie [Els] or [Phil] Mickelson had playing against him like that with him beating me down the stretch. The same is true for A.K., [Rickie] Fowler, Dustin [Johnson] as well. I think the guys that are coming out are not as mentally scarred.

What has your relationship with Darren Clarke meant in terms of your development as a player and a person?

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"I wanted to be like him and I had a poster of him on my bedroom wall."

-- Rory McIlroy, on Tiger Woods

It's meant an awful lot. I met him when I was 13 years old. He has his foundation's tournament in October every year and he invites the best juniors to play. After that weekend, Darren pulled me aside and said, 'Here's my number, you need anything call me.' Ever since then it's been a great relationship. We spend a lot of time together at tournaments. He just moved back to Northern Ireland from London so we'll probably spend more time together. Not just Darren, though but the likes of Lee Westwood and other guys. It's good to have someone to hang out with, guys that are a little older if you want a little advice. It's nice to have it if you ever need it.

You joined the PGA TOUR this year, but you still live in Northern Ireland. Do you have any plans to move to the U.S.?

Not really. I find the commute quite easy -- Belfast to America. I come over 2-3 weeks at a time. Joining the PGA TOUR is a decision I made this year because I always wanted to play on the PGA TOUR. I grew up watching the TOUR on Sunday nights and I played a lot of junior golf over here in the U.S. A lot of guys were telling me to spend one more year in Europe, but it's sort of worked out. I probably will get a house in Florida, but I'm in no rush.

You turned 21 this year, too, during THE PLAYERS Championship. You missed the cut, though. What do you think of TPC Sawgrass?

I watched [the tournament] when it was played in March, when the greens were soft and receptive and it was played the way it was meant to be played. It's better for the TOUR being in May, but it doesn't play like it was meant to be played. If there's no rough, they could let the ball run off but they grow the rough up and the rough is really nasty. They should move it back to March or let the ball be able to run off more.

How is life different in Ireland than here for you?

Just the convenience of everything over here. You've got the West Coast Swing, the Florida Swing. Sometimes in Europe, you're going from Spain to ... China. It's a little less stressful and it's a great way of life. You get a car and are taken care of. It's a nice way to earn your keep, especially if you're playing well.

You're a low-key guy -- you don't wear flashy clothes or big belt buckles. What are your guilty pleasures?

I've always been into cars. I've got a Range Rover and an Audi R8 Spyder. I'm also building my own practice facility as well, so that's sort of my next thing going on. I've got a short game area and the main green is in the middle with three greens around it. The range is about 330 yards to the back and the whole thing is on about 15 acres where my house is. When I go hit balls at home now, I have to do it really early in the morning because if I go in the middle of the day, I'm not able to get anything constructive done because people will be coming up to you asking questions or things like that. It will be nice to have my own place that's nice and private and be able to spend a bit of time with my coach.

Thanks for your time.

Anytime.

Note: Brian Wacker's Q&A with Rory McIlroy was the second in a series. Last month, he had a similar conversation with with rising PGA TOUR star Ryan Moore.