For one fleeting moment on Thursday, the clouds over Royal Portrush gave way just as Rory McIlroy’s opening tee shot drifted left — not 2019 left, but just enough to stir a collective breath-hold from the gallery.
Then, as his ball settled safely in the rough, the sun peeked out, painting the famous dunes in golden light. The crowd exhaled. A country exhaled. And so did Rory McIlroy — followed by a knowing laugh.
Back to the Scene of the Nightmare
It’s been six long years since McIlroy’s disastrous start at the 2019 Open — the wayward tee shot, the out-of-bounds, the 79 that still haunts both him and an entire nation of fans who wanted nothing more than to see the local hero crowned on home soil.
That moment has been replayed endlessly. It has become symbolic of pressure, expectations, and heartbreak. On Thursday, the opening tee shot was just a shot. It didn’t find the fairway. He made a bogey. But it wasn’t a collapse. It was a beginning.
A New McIlroy at Royal Portrush
“I feel the support of an entire country out there,” McIlroy said afterward. “Which is a wonderful position to be in. But at the same time, you don’t want to let them down.”
This time, McIlroy didn’t try to block out the noise. He leaned into it. The roars, the chants — “Go on, Rors!” “We love you!” “Mr. Holywood!” — they weren’t burdens. They were fuel. He gave high-fives, nodded, and smiled.
He followed that early bogey with a birdie at the second, then picked up shots at the fifth and seventh. At one point, after birdieing the 10th, he was just one shot off the lead. But the driver was misfiring. Big time. Two-way misses, only two fairways hit all day, a constant battle with rough and bunkers — and somehow, he still managed a 1-under 70.
Mental Fortitude Over Mechanics
“It was a tough enough day,” McIlroy said, “especially either chopping out of the rough or out of the fairway bunkers most of the time. So to shoot under par was a good effort.”
And it was. Because this round wasn’t about fairways or Strokes Gained, it was about memory and redemption. Six years ago, McIlroy didn’t know how to handle this stage, this pressure, this place. He does now.
“I felt like I dealt with it really well today,” he said. “Certainly dealt with it better than I did six years ago.”
Still in the Hunt — Still Carrying the Hopes of a Nation
McIlroy’s round mirrored the mood of the gallery: anxious, hopeful, emotional, and ultimately, relieved. He’s only three shots off the lead. He’s very much in it. But even if he weren’t, Thursday would still be a success.
Because Rory showed up. Not just as a golfer, but as a human being willing to face the ghosts of Portrush with his head high, even when his driver wasn’t cooperating.
There’s plenty of Open left to be played. There will be time to break down swing paths and strategy, and whether he can track down Scheffler or withstand the weather. But Thursday? Thursday was about healing.
And as the sun finally broke through, it wasn’t just the course that looked a little brighter — Rory McIlroy did too.
