Rory McIlroy accepts AGW Golfer of the Year award, says he's embracing adulation back home
McIlroy, who won the Masters in April, wore his Green Jacket to the festivities and received a standing ovation upon his arrival. He attended the dinner to pick up his award as Golfer of the Year for 2024.
McIlroy grew up 60 miles north of Portrush in Holywood. The World No. 2 completed the career Grand Slam in April, beating Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff for his fifth major and first since the 2014 PGA Championship. In doing so, McIlroy became the sixth golfer to win the career Grand Slam.
McIlroy missed the cut at the Open at Portrush in 2019 and said he intended to take a different approach to being the home favorite this time.
'I think it's better for everyone if I embrace it. I think it's better for me because I can – it's nice to be able to accept adulation, even though I struggle with it at times – but it's also nice for the person that is seeing you for the first time in a few years,' he said. 'It just makes for a better interaction and not trying to hide away from it.
"I think it's more of an embrace everything that's going to come my way this week and not try to shy away from it or hide away from it, and I think that'll make for a better experience for everyone involved.'
Showing up to the AGW dinner in his Masters jacket definitely qualifies as embracing the week.
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NBC Sports
12 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
153rd Open: The man beloved at home and the one who has conquered the world
Watch the best moments from the late portion to the final round of the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland. PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – The tone was set Saturday night. Rory McIlroy had just turned golf's most staid championship into a rollicking summer festival, the eventgoers delirious at the prospect of their celebrated native son, one of the most famous athletes to ever come from this tiny island of less than two million people, heading into the final round of the 153rd Open with a shot to hoist the claret jug at home, in front of them, and for them too. The only person who seemed unstirred by the possibility was McIlroy himself. He'd shot 66 but only moved within six of the lead. He had three players in front of him and four others pulled up alongside him, with a calm Sunday forecast that would make it even more difficult to separate, but his outlook was dimmed by the man at the top of the board. 'Yeah, look, Scottie Scheffler is ...,' McIlroy said, collecting his thoughts. 'It's inevitable.' It was an admission that, amid this lovefest in Rory's town, it's ultimately still part of Scottie Scheffler's world. McIlroy – too far back to seriously contend this week, and too far behind in the world rankings this year – has come to accept this reality. And so, rather than this Open homecoming becoming a monument to his dominance in the sport, he instead viewed the week through a different prism: a celebration of his greatness. How far he has come in his nearly two decades as a pro. And all he has accomplished, even now, with a new ruler in the sport. 'A lot of gratitude, a lot of pride,' he said. 'A lot of pride that I am from these shores.' McIlroy's stats and status might be under siege in this new world order, but it's hard to envision a crowd or a tournament ever tilting in Scheffler's direction as it did for McIlroy over these four days at Portrush. Kids high-fived him along the rope line and began to weep. Fans bellowed and chanted his name from high atop the dunes. Patrons gave him standing ovations in the grandstands. 'I've heard enough 'Rorys' to last me a lifetime,' Matt Fitzpatrick said. It was McIlroy, after all, who helped lobby R&A officials to bring the game's oldest major back to Royal Portrush, an hour from his childhood home in Holywood, for the first time in 63 years. But that 2019 Open represented a missed opportunity while at a professional crossroads. He'd lost some of his joy between the ropes. His major record had soured. He'd been displaced for a time by other talented players. When he strode to the first tee, he was blown away by the outpouring of support. Unprepared and overwhelmed by the reception, he melted down during an opening 79 and, only after his inspired rally fell short, did he realize the magnitude and the depth of his people's love. Check his record since then; it has spurred on his play over the past half-decade. Recalling those painful memories, McIlroy vowed to make this week, and this year, different in what, at age 36, was likely his last Portrush Open in his prime. He wanted to reciprocate. Embrace the experience, not shield himself from it. Maybe there would have been more angst had he not prevailed at the Masters. If he was still major-less for more than a decade. But he returned home a legend, and now everyone, 45,000 a day, could revel in it. McIlroy turned pro in 2007, at the age of 18, and took his talents globally, sharing himself with the rest of the world outside the borders of Northern Ireland. The U.S. Australia. Japan. South Africa. That was his way of not just growing his wallet, but also his brand and his platform and, along the way, his popularity. That wider reach has never appealed to Scheffler. He was born in New Jersey and moved with his family at a young age to Dallas, where he still resides. The Schefflers are all a tight-knit group, a short drive away while at home and, now, a consistent, supportive and loving presence on the road. As a kid, all Scheffler wanted to do was become a professional golfer, wearing long pants in the blazing summer heat like local heroes Justin Leonard and Harrison Frazar, and he still can't quite believe that he's blessed and talented enough to be living out his wildest dreams. Now with a young family of his own, he has made no apologies that he's U.S.-centric with his schedule and that he doesn't aspire to be a globetrotting ambassador for the sport. As the top player, he said it was 'not my priority nor my responsibility' to travel the world and ply his trade, to grow the game. It was at the end of that early-week press conference when Scheffler went viral. His 5-minute monologue on his inner war between fulfillment and satisfaction offered a rare glimpse into what drives the most dominant golfer since Tiger Woods. Frustrated that some of the social clips had taken his comments out of context, with the implication that pro golf left him feeling empty, Scheffler spent much of his winner's press conference Sunday defending himself. That he cares about competing. Doing the work. Trying his best. Seeing how far his talent and work ethic and dedication can take him. Everything that accompanies his success – status and stardom – holds little interest to him. 'There's more to life than playing golf,' he said. 'But I'm pretty excited to go home and celebrate this one.' Stoic and steady, simplistic and stable, Scheffler doesn't inspire much emotion. He might never become a beloved figure that spawns his own legion of fandom; the 2027 PGA in Frisco, less than an hour from home, isn't likely to become the lively lovefest that McIlroy's homecoming was. But sports fans love greatness, and they're undoubtedly now witness to Scheffler's brilliance. 'I think all you can do is admire what he does and how he does it,' McIlroy said. 'He just goes about his business. Doesn't do anything overly flamboyant. But he's the best at executing in the game right now. All you can do is tip your cap and watch in admiration.' What little hope the field had Sunday disappeared as soon as Scheffler stuffed his approach to a foot on the opening hole. Midway through the front nine, he led by eight. Over the final 36 holes, with the crowd at a fever pitch, desperate to will his chief rival to victory, Scheffler's only blemish came with a double bogey on the eighth hole – two strokes that he got back with birdies on two of the next four holes. There was nothing McIlroy or anyone else could do to stop the onslaught, so over the final two hours, he tried to soak in an Open unlike any other. A few extra nods to the crowd. More high-fives. When he tapped in for a final-round 69, leaving him in joint seventh, seven shots behind, he removed his cap and, before entering the tunnel, spun around to wave to the cheering crowd one last time. In the group behind him, Scheffler was polishing off another rout. Methodical, clinical, dominant – the first player in the modern era to win each of his first four major championships by at least three strokes. 'Walking up 18, I didn't really know if I was going to get that much support from the crowd,' Scheffler said. 'The crowd, I think, wanted somebody else to win this week, and I got to play spoiler a little bit.' Not just this week, but this entire year too. The best spring of McIlroy's career – a signature title at Pebble, a rousing playoff at The Players, and a Masters moment that transcended the sport – has since been supplanted by Scheffler's two-major summer, making him a virtual lock for Player of the Year honors for the fourth season in a row. 'I also had the three wins when Scottie wasn't quite on his game,' McIlroy said, chuckling. 'He is the bar that we're all trying to get to.' But now he's back on his game, just as he's largely been since February 2022, when this winning spree began. Scheffler was 15th in the world before that breakthrough week in Phoenix, when he was an unproven closer, when his putting was inconsistent, when his approach play was stellar but not peerless. This will soon be week No. 115 in a row at the top. He's converted 10 consecutive 54-hole leads. He's transformed into a world-class putter. (Matt Fitzpatrick: 'He's just not missed a putt.') And he is, statistically, the best ball-striker since prime Woods. Must it be inspiring or dispiriting, a reporter asked McIlroy, to go up against Scheffler when he's in form like this? 'Neither,' McIlroy said. 'All I can do is focus on myself and try to play the best golf that I can. I know that, when I do that, I'll have my weeks where I'll contend and hopefully win.' Even if those weeks are becoming less frequent. Afterward, McIlroy signed a hat and a flag, posed for two selfies, and then bounded up the hill and into the early evening. The hyped home game was over; a few weeks of vacation awaited. About a hundred yards away, with the trophy presentation underway and Scheffler in the middle of the arena, thousands of fans began to stream out of the grandstands and toward the exit. Their local hero didn't walk away victorious. They settled for a glimpse at history instead. Rory McIlroy talks about the experience at Royal Portrush, calling it an "awesome week" that came close to all he wanted -- and hoping the R&A can bring The Open back soon. Then, Live From debates Player of the Year.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
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Chris Gotterup doubled his career earnings with strong play at Scottish, British Opens
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Yahoo
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Venus Williams, 45, to end 16-month layoff in Washington
Venus Williams will make her return from a 16-month layoff at this week's DC Open, the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion saying Sunday she is not sure of anything beyond that. The 45-year-old American overcame a serious health scare last year and after enjoying a visit to Wimbledon decided to accept a wildcard into the US capital tournament, the first hardcourt tuneup for the US Open. "I think I know what I want to do, but I don't always want to talk about it," Williams said. "I'm just here for now. And who knows? Maybe there is more. I hold my cards close, but at the moment, I'm focused just on this." Williams will open against 23-year-old American Peyton Stearns, ranked 34th in the world. Stearns won her only WTA title last year on clay at Rabat. The older sister of 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams has not played since a first-round loss at Miami last year. "My personal goal is to have fun I think right now and enjoy the moment, not put too much pressure on myself," Venus Williams said. "I don't know if I define success at this moment in any sort of way other than believing in myself and sticking to my process. That's not easy to do, especially after a layoff. So those are my goals." Venus Williams, the 2000 Sydney Olympic singles champion, has won five Wimbledon singles titles and two US Open crowns. The most recent of her 49 WTA titles came in 2019 at the Taiwan Open. That was the last year she played a full tour schedule. "I definitely feel I'll play well," Williams said. "I'm still the same player. I'm a big hitter. I hit big. This is my brand. "So it's about hitting big and actually putting it in. So this will be my effort. Put it in the court. That's my main goal." A year ago, tennis was far from the most important thing on her mind. "Yeah, my health journey was very scary. You know, this time a year ago I was preparing to go to surgery," she said. "There was no way for me to play tennis or play the US Open... I was just trying to get healthy. "In this last year, I have been through a lot physically, so to come back and be able to play and hopefully enjoy myself is a great opportunity." - 'Fun of the challenge' - Williams was feeling well enough to accept a wildcard and a visit to Wimbledon added some inspiration. "I had been hitting the ball and of course I love the game and the hard courts. It's my favorite surface, what I feel comfortable on. so all those different factors," Williams said of her choice to play in Washington. "When I went to Wimbledon this year, I was there for a day and it was so beautiful and exciting. I remembered all the times that I had, and of course the adrenaline, all those things. "I think just the pure fun of playing the game, the fun of the challenge, overcoming. Those things are very exciting." The seven Slam singles titles by Williams match the rest of the Washington field, which includes four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan. js/iwd
