6 months ago
5
Paolo UggettiJul 14, 2025, 11:14 AM ET
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland -- Twelve hours aft Rory McIlroy wrapped up a second-place decorativeness astatine the Scottish Open adjacent Edinburgh, the five-time large victor walked up to the archetypal tee astatine Royal Portrush astir 7 a.m. section time, connected 4 hours of sleep, and began his archetypal signifier circular successful beforehand of this year's Open Championship.
Fans were inactive trickling onto the grounds and nary different subordinate was wrong show arsenic McIlroy plotted his mode astir a play people wherever helium inactive owns the people grounds -- a 61 erstwhile helium was conscionable 16 years old. By the clip helium made the crook connected the backmost nine, the assemblage had grown and was filled with radical looking to witnesser McIlroy's instrumentality home, this clip arsenic a Grand Slam champion.
"The information that I'm present astatine Portrush with the greenish jacket, having completed that lifelong dream, I privation to bash my champion this week to bask everything that comes my mode and bask the absorption of the fans and bask being successful beforehand of them and playing successful beforehand of them," said McIlroy. "But astatine the aforesaid time, I privation to triumph this play tournament, and I consciousness similar I'm precise susceptible of doing that."
The past clip the Open Championship came to Portrush successful 2019, McIlroy said helium was unprepared for what benignant of affectional acquisition it would be. After getting an ovation connected the archetypal tee, McIlroy deed his tee changeable retired of bounds and made an 8. He would spell connected to miss the cut. This week, McIlroy says, helium is taking a somewhat antithetic approach.
"I deliberation successful '19, I astir apt tried to isolate," said McIlroy. "And I deliberation it's amended for everyone if I clasp it."
On Monday, aft striking a 3-iron disconnected the 18th tee, hitting his attack connected the greenish and sinking successful a birdie putt that elicited a decent-sized cheer from the gallery, McIlroy spent ample clip signing memorabilia for the section fans successful attendance. He signed countless yellowish pin flags and hats, but besides a elephantine Northern Ireland emblem that featured each 4 large championships and said "Rory Legend" connected it. One kid adjacent held retired a greenish suit overgarment successful a acold antithetic shadiness of greenish than the Masters 1 that McIlroy signed too.
"It's bully to beryllium capable to judge adulation, adjacent though I conflict with it astatine times," McIlroy said. "But it's besides bully for the idiosyncratic that is seeing you for the archetypal clip successful a fewer years. It conscionable makes for a amended enactment and not trying to fell distant from it."
It helps, too, that McIlroy is playing his champion play since that historical Masters triumph successful April. In his past 2 starts, McIlroy has finished T-6 astatine the Travelers Championship and T-2 past week.
"A spot of a alteration of scenery has been truly nice," McIlroy said. "I'm excited with wherever my crippled is. I felt similar I showed immoderate truly bully signs past week. I consciousness similar I'm successful a bully spot."
Portrush's demands this week -- beryllium it by mode of wind, rainfall oregon simply the course's sheer trouble -- volition beryllium steep, but McIlroy says helium is successful a overmuch amended headspace to instrumentality connected the challenge. After playing good beneath his level astatine the PGA Championship and having a dilatory commencement astatine the U.S. Open, McIlroy himself admitted helium was struggling with information pursuing the long-awaited Masters win. This Open astatine home, however, needs nary other motivation.
"When I was looking astatine the calendar for 2025, this was the tourney that was circled, adjacent much truthful than the Masters," helium said. "I've done thing that I've told everyone that I wanted to do, but past it's similar I inactive consciousness similar I person a batch much to springiness ... I inactive consciousness similar there's a batch near successful there. The communicative surely isn't over."
