Rory McIlroy tees off on the fourth hole during the second round at the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif. on Friday, June 14, 2019. (Copyright USGA/JD Cuban)

Rory McIlroy didn’t quite let Patrick Reed off the hook but he believes the American deserves the benefit of the doubt over the sand-storm in the Bahamas.

Speaking in a wide-ranging interview on Golf Channel’s “Morning Drive”, the world number two put forward the theory that "kicking" Reed has become a “hobby" for some.

"You try to give the player the benefit of the doubt," McIlroy said of Reed, who has been called out for cheating by Australian Cameron Smith ahead of this week’s Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne.

"He is in there and trying to figure out what way to play the shot. Obviously, he has moved some sand, so it is a penalty, but I don't think it would be a big deal if it wasn't Patrick Reed.

"It is almost like as if a lot of people within the game, it is almost like a hobby to kick him when he is down."

After winning four times in 2019 and racking up 19 top-10 finishes from 25 starts to win the PGA Tour Player of the Year award, it’s been a memorable season for the 30-year old County Down man.

He’s still waiting for that fifth major win but he believes he’s found a formula that will allow him to make his thirties even more successful than his twenties and confident that that drought will end sooner or later.

Here are some highlights of his chat with the Golf Channel’s Damon Hack, Robert Damron, Paige Mackenzie and Anna Whiteley and his views on everything from Reed to that opening quadruple bogey eight that dashed his hopes in The Open at Royal Portrush, his excitement about travelling to the Olympics with Shane Lowry and his belief that Tiger Woods is the greatest golf that has ever lived.

What was the significance of this year as you look to kick start the next decade of your career?

I have always talked about wanting to be more consistent and play well, week in, week out. I think I have done that this year and figured out a formula that works for me —19 top-10s with four wins sprinkled in there. The level of golf I have played this year on a consistent basis is what I was most proud of.

Q. Why was your decision to play more in the US so important to you?

I made a decision at the start of last year to base myself in America and live over here. I think people forget I have been on tour for 12 years. Travel does get a little old, and I wanted to try and reserve some of my energy. You can't keep hopping back and forth. I still travel a bit playing this game, but I didn't want to wear myself too thin. I think with the schedule change, it has helped a little bit. You can focus all your energy on the one tour and switch over and focus on the end of the year over in Europe.

Q. What was it like to have Jack Nicklaus surprise you with the PGA Tour Player of the Year award?

It was very cool. I have gotten to know Jack pretty well over the last few years, living at the Bear's Club, interacting with him quite a lot. We do catch up regularly. I will see him in the locker room, or we will have some lunch. I got a call saying Jack wanted to meet me and I thought it might have been about course design because we've talked in the past about doing some stuff. So then when he brought out the trophy and Jay Monaghan was there as well, I thought, hold on there a minute. This doesn't seem right. But it very cool and a little bit of a surprise. But to get that award from the man himself meant a lot.

Q. Several of your peers feel you were the best player of the decade. How does it feel to hear them say that?

It's pretty cool. It's been a fast 10 years. It seems like yesterday I holed that putt at Quail Hollow to win my first PGA Tour event. I try to get up the morning and do the right things all the time. Be professional about my career, do the right things all the time, be respectful of other players, be respectful towards the game, put the work in. If you do that, it starts to add up. There might be periods where it is a little slower going at times and others when it is a little faster, but totalling that all up in ten years and looking at what I have achieved, it's been pretty cool.

Brooks Koepka plays a shot on the tenth hole during the second round at the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif. on Friday, June 14, 2019. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)

Q. When Brooks Koepka said you hadn't won a major since he'd been on the PGA Tour and didn't view it as a rivalry, was that disrespectful?

Not disrespectful. We sit in these press conferences and we all get asked about other players. It's as if there is no good answer. What do you say? What don't you say? I've been in Brooks' position before and thought, ask me about me. Don't ask me about other players. This isn't the gossip channel. You want to talk about your feelings and your thoughts. Brooks and I are probably sick of hearing each other's names at this point and that's a good thing. It's great we are both in that conversation. I want to say we had a battle in Memphis, but I didn't put up much of a fight. Then I got one up on him in FedEx Cup. I think in the game of golf, your biggest rival is yourself. You have to control yourself, and if you go out and control yourself and your emotions, and go out and figure out the right way to go out and play a course, the other guys are irrelevant. It's all about you. If you can control yourself and do the right things, it is up to other people to talk about rivalries. He is trying to do his thing, and I am trying to do mine, just as everyone else is. JT, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm. There are so many great players in the world right now. I think the game is in really good shape and I don't think it's about Brooks and I.

Q. Does it make it easier for you to hit balls when you have someone like him around saying, I don't see a rivalry? It looked like the FedEx Cup meant something.

It meant something to take down the No 1 player in the world for sure. The Australian Open was on last week, and I went down to play it in 2013, and Adam Scott was No 1 in the world, and I was able to take him down. That felt really good to me. I was struggling that season and hadn't had a great year. So to go up against the best player in the world at that time and beat him, that felt good. It's a validation that you are doing the right thing and are on the right path.

Q. What was the big lesson you learned from Royal Portrush?

I didn't mentally prepare for that first tee shot as well as I could have. I was trying to play it down as just another event. I got on that first tee, and it felt different. I don't want to say nervous, but it was like, 'Whoah, this is happening.' I have been thinking about it for six years, and now it is actually the time. What happened at the first hole wasn't great. I feel like I steadied the ship a little bit and then I let it all go at the end. I missed a little putt on 16 and made double and then made a triple at the last which people probably don't remember. I played the last three holes in five over. But I bounced back, and I played a good second round. I keep saying, it's probably the best missed cut I have ever had.

Q. What lessons have you learned at Augusta over the last five years that can give you the edge in April?

When I won my last major in '14, I went into Augusta in '15 playing really well, probably some of the best golf of my career. I shot 12 under par and ended up finishing fourth. But Jordan Spieth was just on a different level. In '16, Jordan and I played in the last group together on Saturday and I didn't play very well. In '17 I top tenned it. In '18 I had a great chance going up against Patrick (Reed) on the final day.

Augusta, the way the course is, it's very much a second shot golf course. As much as people say it should suit me with my driving and stuff, it's easy to drive the ball in the fairway there. So it is a second shot golf course and sometimes it baits you into doing to trying to do too much or it goes the other way, and you can be so defensive. Phil says the most aggressive he thinks he can be is at Augusta because he can rely on his short game and if he does miss a green he can get it up and down and move on.

There have been so many different ways I have tried to play Augusta from taking advantage of the par-fives to focussing on the 4th and 11th holes, which have historically been my worst holes.

If I focus on one thing, I will do it well, but then I will neglect another thing and struggle there. I feel like I have figured out all the parts, and it's about putting it all together. Each and every year I go back there, I think I am a step closer.

Q What will be your plan in 2020?

We found August this year very different. They tried to keep a lot of moisture on it for the women's amateur, and the course never got back to what it is for the Masters, firm and fast and tricky. It played quite slow. The greens never got up to the speed you'd expect. It was a different test. You'd take it year by year, and see how the course is playing. I know how to play the golf course and have played great rounds there. More than anything else, it's a mental thing. If you put yourself in a position to win, it's about embracing that challenge, relishing that and making the most of it. I think I have all the tools, it's just about putting them all together.

Q. What's like being around Tiger Woods for his re-emergence?

It's awesome. Having a healthy competitive Tiger woods is great for our sport. He brings a lot of eyeballs to our sport that no one else can. He has been an incredible competitor for so many years. It was really cool to be there when he won his first tournament back from surgery and the back injuries. He's become a good friend. I appreciate the relationship we have been able to forge. I have been him in some pretty tough places. We sat and had lunch in March '17, and he was struggling to get up and move and walk around. And then you fast forward two years, and he is winning the Masters. It is just unbelievable. I still to this day don't think people give him enough credit for what he has been through to get back to where he is. If it's not the best comeback in sports, it's definitely one of them.

Q. You said in February that your 30s can be better than your 20s, do you take that statement back or double down?

I will double down. I already have three wins in my 30s, so I have got off to a good start.

Q. What are the challenges of staying hungry or keeping that edge sharp?

Great question. In my 20s, when I came into financial success, comfort, resetting goals, it goes back to when you are a kid. Your dreams are of hoisting trophies and becoming the best player in the world. The money part of it never came into the equation. What I have learned is that no amount of money is going to change my drive to become the best player in the world. That's not the reason I got into the game or play this game. The rewards are nice, and you can set your family up and generations in the future, and I struggled with that for about a year. In '13, I was a little lost. What am I playing for? What are my goals? You realise it isn't everything. You can have the houses, have the cars. But it's not about that. It's about fulfilling the potential you have and becoming one of the best players. Now I realise what's important to me. As I mature and get into my 30s, it's about trying to make the most of the talent that I have and about fulfilling my potential

Q. What's your biggest goal going into 2020?

Honestly, it's a continuation of what I have been able to build this year - the consistency. Even if you are not playing your best, the ability to have a good finish. It's funny, I had so many chances to win this year. I won four times which is still a really good total but maybe to just convert a few more and be more efficient when I do get myself into contention. One of the great positives is that I am getting into contention a lot more and the more you do that, the more comfortable you become and the more you are going to convert those chances into wins.

Rory McIlroy watches his tee shot on the second hole during the final round at the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif. on Sunday, June 16, 2019. (Copyright USGA/Darren Carroll)

Q How do you deal with expectations?

My expectations are just a high if not higher (that people's expectations of me). If I am not playing well, I am not living up to my own. I want to get the best out of myself each time I play. I feel I have found a formula that works for me. Scheduling, not travelling too much, working on the right things in my game, focusing less on other things in my game. If I can continue to do that, I know the wins will follow and then hopefull the major wins after that. The wins are not totally in your control. As I said before, Jordan shot 20 under par in that Masters. Sometimes you can't live with that.

Q. Phil Mickelson has opted to play in Saudi Arabia, but Tiger Woods has reportedly turned down $3 million, and you were reportedly offered $2.5 million, and you are not going. Why?

I don't want to go. I'd rather play a couple of events on the west coast rather than travel all the way to Saudi Arabia. It's just not something I would excite me.

Q. Is it complicated because of the political issues?

One hundred per cent. There is a morality to it as well. I had no problem watching the world heavyweight title fight on Saturday and cheering on AJ. [On Saudi regime] You could say that about so many countries where we play not just Saudi Arabia. I just don't want to go and travel that far. The atmosphere on the west coast looks much better. I'd much rather play in front of big golf fans and play in a tournament that really excites me.

Q. You were reticent, some might say almost hostile to golf in the Olympics. What's taken you there?

It's a maturing thing. The Olympics put me in an awkward position, and I had to dig deep within myself and ask myself questions I had never asked myself before. Where do loyalties lie? Where am I from? What does that mean to me? What does the other side mean to me? It weighed heavily on me and then I started to resent the Olympics because of what it put upon me. I realised I can't please everyone. If you go through your lifetime trying to please everyone, you are going to be miserable yourself. So I had to do what was right for me. I didn't want people to prohibit from experiencing something I had never experienced before. We had the ZOZO there a few weeks ago, and golf fans in Japan are so enthusiastic. So to play an Olympic Games in Japan is going to be so exciting. There is going to be a lot of travel at that time of year, just after the Open Championship. But I have been on tour 12 or 13 years and to 12 or 13 years into your career have the ability to experience something for the first time is pretty cool.

Q. What are you most looking forward to?

I am not going to go that early. I'll go the weekend before and catch the other sporting events. One of the big things I am looking forward to is spending the week with Shane Lowry. We have a good relationship. He has obviously had a great year winning at Portrush. Shane's wife, Wendy, is going to come and my wife, Erica. We are going to spend a week together, and that's something that's going to be really cool. To feel that camaraderie a little bit.

Q. What's your view of what happened with Patrick Reed at the weekend?

The live shot you just showed there isn't as incriminating at the slo-mo. I think it's hard. You try to give the player the benefit of the doubt, right. He is in there and trying to figure out what way to play the shot. Obviously, he has moved some sand, so it is a penalty. But I don't think it would be a big deal if it wasn't Patrick Reed. A lot of people within the game, it is almost like a hobby to kick him when he is down. I have had great interactions with Patrick. I certainly don't think there was intent there. That shot right there does look bad. But it's very, very hard for me not to think that he didn't feel what he was doing. It's just a hard one. But again, I'd rather try to give someone the benefit of the doubt and just say it was a mistake, take your penalty, move on. It is going to make things very difficult for him in Australia this week.

Patrick Reed taking a practice swing on the 11th in the third round of the Hero World Challenge

Q. Does it change your opinion of him that there is footage of him doing something similar there in 2015?

I know. But there is almost like an obliviousness to it rather than something intentional, trying to get away with something. It is almost like his pre-shot routine nearly. It is not right. It doesn't make it right what he did, but if it wasn't Patrick Reed and it was someone else, I don't think it would be as big a deal as it's been made out to be.

It's a tough one. I'd never want to think that a fellow competitor is intentionally trying to improve a lie. It is a tough one. I think we could give him the benefit of the doubt one time, or twice maybe, and move on. If he has learnt his lesson and he doesn't do it again, I guess that's a good thing.

Q. Have you ever witnessed cheating with your own eyes?

There have been things I have seen that have been questionable.

Q. Did you report the person?

No. It's almost we are in the wrong if we are not trying to protect the field as well. It's a very awkward position to be put in. If you see something, So you say it to an official? Do you say it to a player?

Q. Why is it so uncomfortable, so grey, when our game is supposed to be black and white?

For me, I don't like confrontation. I will do everything I can to stay away from confrontation. It is a grey area. I'd be much more comfortable saying to someone after they've played — in the locker room, having some lunch — hey I saw something on the sixth green, I didn't like what I saw. Be a little more careful with your marker, or whatever it may be. If I have seen anything on tour, it's maybe somebody didn't put a ball back exactly where it should be on a green. You see it once, do you give them the benefit of the doubt or if you see it more than that, do you say, just be careful?

Q. Is there anything Ernie Els can do to help his team win this week?

For me, all the best teams I've been a part of have been player-led. That's why the US has such an advantage this time. You have a playing captain. The best teams I have been on have been when the captain has been a relevant player on tour. Thomas Bjorn still played, Paul McGinley, Monty. Jose María not so much. Then you look at the US teams in the past, Davis Love twice. Tom Watson was a disaster. He couldn't relate to the players. So having a captain that relates to the players and still has that competitive respect is a big thing. Poulter, Westwood, Sergio, these guys that are leaders in our team are the heartbeat of why we've been so successful.

Q. Wrong or not: You said the best shot you hit all year was the three wood you hit to the 18th in Dubai. I say no way does it stack up to your tee shot on the 72nd hole at The Players.

You're wrong. That tee shot wasn't even the best shot of the day. I hit a six-iron out of a fairway bunker on 15 that was by far the best shot that I hit all tournament at The Players. I think for me, if I had a miss that week with the driver it was right. I knew it wasn't going to go left in the water. So if anything [the drive on 18] is going to go in the trees on the right. I still needed a par to win. So I could chip it out, get it up and down and still win. That was my thing. I was saying this to someone the other day. I'd rather have to hit one tough shot on the 18th at Sawgrass than two. If I hit a three-iron or a five-wood off the tee, you are having to go in there with a four or five-iron into the green. So you are basically making it twice as hard. Whereas if you hit one good shot, it basically kills the hole and makes it an easy win.

Q. Tell me I'm wrong. We are on the brink of a golden era for European golf.

I think you are wrong. Because I go back to the early 2010s. You had Lee Westwood No 1 in the world, Martin Kaymer No 1 in the world, myself, I got to No 1 in the world. I thought that was the golden era. Of the last 10-15 years. We were winning Ryder Cups - not that we are not winning Ryder Cups now - but I just think that was a period on the European Tour where it was as good as it's been.

Q. But you are PGA Tour Player of the Year and reigning FedEx Cup champion. Shane Lowry is Open champion. Looking at the top three players in the world, there's you and Jon Rahm, who won the Race to Dubai. [Europe] has so many up and coming young players, so we are on the brink. Would you agree?

We will see how the first half of 2020 goes. We are close. I am not saying we are a million miles away but the No 1 spot was changing hands between four different European players. That was really cool.

Q The first tee at Royal Portrush was the most nervous you have ever been?

On the golf course? It's up there. Id' say the only thing that comes close to that is standing on the first tee at Augusta with a four-shot lead. I was really nervous that day. It was more that I was almost shell shocked. I had been waiting for this moment for six or seven years, and all of a sudden, it was real. This isn't just a dream any more, it has turned into reality. It's the most 'deer in headlights' that I've been on a golf course.

Tiger Woods plays his tee shot on the 16th hole during the second round at the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif. on Friday, June 14, 2019. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)

Q. Tell me I'm wrong. Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer who has ever lived.

You're not wrong. He has not won as many majors as Jack, but he is going to win the most PGA Tour events. He might still surpass Jack's major total, but I think in the history of our game, nobody has played better golf than Tiger Woods. In 2000-2001 that whole stretch, no one has played the calibre of golf he played then. That's why I think he's the best who ever lived. No one ever reached the levels that he did. I think it's the relentlessness. Back then it would be nine wins, then the next year eight wins, then ten wins. It was year after year of relentless excellence. I think his 82 PGA Tour events he's won is nearly more impressive than the 15 majors he's won. The motivation to get up every morning and say I am going to keep on this journey and keep dominating people... and he's still doing it, and he's going to turn 44 in a few weeks.

Q Can Tiger pass Jack's 18 major wins?

It's going to be hard. I see him winning another major. I think he will compete at Augusta until he's into his fifties. He will have the chances. He is healthy, so there is no reason why we can't be optimistic about that.