I made some comments before that were probably uneducated and impulsive, but coming here and experiencing it, seeing, feeling everything that goes on — not just Olympic golf but just The Olympics in general — that sort of Olympic spirit has definitely bitten me.

Rory McIlroy

I kept telling myself this word, process. Focus on my process, don't care about the result.

Rory McIlroy

care focus process

You know I need that cockiness, the self-belief, arrogance, swagger, whatever you want to call it, I need that on the golf course to bring the best out of myself. So you know once I leave the golf course, you know that all gets left there.

Rory McIlroy

believe-in-yourself leaving golf

The next time I cry about golf it will only be with joy. It's not worth crying over golf for any other reason. After all, it's only a game.

Rory McIlroy

games golf joy

I've come across enough successful people now to know that the best in whatever walk of life, they're the ones who just work the hardest. I realized that if I want to be the best and fulfill my potential, I'm going to have to do the same thing. And for those who are lucky enough to be born with a gift and then choose to work the hardest-I mean, that's the combination.

Rory McIlroy

successful mean people

I don't really remember, but from about the age of five I told anyone who would listen that I was going to be the best golfer in the world.

Rory McIlroy

age remember world

To be a top-class athlete, you have to train hard, you have to eat right, you have to get enough rest. I feel the way golf is going nowadays, you have to treat yourself as an athlete.

Rory McIlroy

train-hard athlete golf

With success comes expectation, and I know the expectation on me is going to be pretty high.

Rory McIlroy

expectations knows success

I think there came a time - probably when I was about 13 - when I started to struggle with an increasing volume of schoolwork and the demands from my golfing schedule and aspirations. I'm not sure if the decision to leave school was very clear in my mind then but I did know that in the juggling between the two, my energies were most definitely in the golfing direction.

Rory McIlroy

struggle school thinking

It is never easy to win but it is a lot easier to win when you play well. The key is winning golf tournaments when you are not playing so well. Managing your game is something that I feel that I am still learning to do.

Rory McIlroy

games winning golf

I was more worried about what other people would think rather than, you know, me. But you have got to do what is right for yourself and what you feel comfortable with.

Rory McIlroy

worried people thinking

Going to the gym is great for your body, but it's also great for your mind.

Rory McIlroy

gym body mind

I expect big things from myself but as long as I can keep the commitment and dedication and put the hard work in, I don't see why there's any reason not to handle it OK.

Rory McIlroy

hard-work sports commitment

How can I intimidate Tiger Woods? I mean, the guy's got 75 or whatever PGA Tour wins, 14 majors. He's been the biggest thing ever in our sport. How could some little 23-year-old from Northern Ireland with a few wins come up and intimidate him.

Rory McIlroy

winning sports mean

I want to try to become the best golfer in the world.

Rory McIlroy

want trying world

As long as I keep enjoying my golf, then hopefully I'll be able to play well.

Rory McIlroy

play golf long

Fitness plays such an important role in my life, and an integral part of my golf structure, that I think I might be quite good at teaching others the benefits of sport and fitness.

Rory McIlroy

teaching golf sports

In a serious sense, wanting to change something from the past doesn't work for me - change something you don't enjoy now rather than regretting it later.

Rory McIlroy

regret serious past

I'm happy with the success I've had, and I feel like there's been a lot that I've learned this year, and that's a great thing going into the future.

Rory McIlroy

ive-learned golf years

Everything is firing on all cylinders for me.

Rory McIlroy

firing cylinders

Leaving golf aside for the moment, I'd choose Roger Federer as a sporting role model, Muhammad Ali for a sporting and non-sporting role model and Nelson Mandela as a true and lasting inspiration.

Rory McIlroy

role-models inspiration golf