Rory McIlroy on his ruthless side: 'What the [expletive] are they doing?'

Rory McIlroy sat down for an extensive, in-depth interview with the Irish Independent's Paul Kimmage, and it really is a must-read.

We wrote about the first installment of the piece last week - in which Rory reveals the late-night texts he gets from Tiger Woods - and now we're treated to some more gems in part two. There are so many good bits ( again, it really is worth your time), but this anecdote about Rory's stone-faced reaction at the 2014 PGA Championship probably stands as the most fascinating.

For context, the moment came early during the final round, when birdies were flying around between Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and Henrik Stenson. They were all vying for the trophy and everyone was enjoying it all together - except for Rory, that is, who not coincidentally went on to win the tournament. While the others were having fun together, Rory stayed zoned-in, determined to beat them all.

The exchange:

PK: How conscious were you of that?

RM: I was conscious of it. I was over-par on the front nine and struggling a bit and I see the two boys ahead chipping in and holing putts. And I saw them fist-pump coming off one of the greens and remember thinking: 'What the [expletive] are they doing?'

PK: (Laughs)

RM: 'This is a Major championship! You're trying to beat each other! This isn't the Ryder Cup here!' And it did, it annoyed me. I thought: 'I'm going to beat these two.' And that's sort of what turned it for me, and probably what he's talking about. There was a wait on a tee and . . .

It's the kind of ruthless, detached competitiveness that Rory has exhibited plenty of times throughout his career (like at the Ryder Cup this year), one that he undoubtedly learned from watching the dominating manner of Tiger Woods' victories growing up. Rory's the kind of player who thrives when there's a challenge to rise to. Someone to beat. It's a slightly unusual mindset in golf, but one that seems to be working quite well for Rory.