Rory McIlroy returns to Europe win one eye on The Open

The National

4 days ago

Presumably, he's been heaving boxes, painting walls and trying to fathom out how the ruddy boiler works?
The journey north of the border, for the Genesis Scottish Open here at the Renaissance, is something of a significant event.
It will be McIlroy's first competitive appearance on this side of the pond since he finally completed the career grand slam in April's Masters.
That seismic occasion, which reverberated far beyond golf's boundaries, will take some beating.
The Genesis Scottish Open is a mighty showpiece in its own right, but there's no avoiding the looming presence of The Open which takes place in McIlroy's backyard of Royal Portrush next week.
Just six years after returning to Northern Ireland in 2019 – it hadn't been staged there since 1951 – golf's most venerated major is back in town.
A lot, of course, happened between Max Faulkner's win there at the start of the 1950s and Shane Lowry's triumph 68 years later.
After decades dominated by The Troubles, McIlroy continues to savour the opportunity to showcase his homeland in a positive light.
'I think it's a great representation of how far Northern Ireland has come in the last 30 or 40 years,' said the world No 2.
'In the 70s, the 80s and the 90s, no one would have dreamed of hosting an Open Championship in Northern Ireland. So, it's a testament to the people of Northern Ireland for how far we as a country have come.
'I think my generation couldn't care less about what had happened in the past. Everyone's just looking forward.
"My mum and dad both grew up in the 60s and the 70s and Northern Ireland was a very different place. I feel very fortunate that I'm of the generation that I am that I didn't have to deal with any of that or very little of it.
'It has come a long, long way. People really appreciate when a huge sporting event that the world's eyes are on that week happens. Everyone there really appreciates that and are excited to show the country in the best light possible.'
It'll all be happening in Portrush. A planned loyalist parade on the Saturday night of the third round is giving the R&A some logistical headaches with some 60 bands and 2000 participants expected to march through the streets just as vast crowds are exiting the sold-out golf.
The last time The Open was staged on the Antrim coast, McIlroy wasn't there on the Saturday as he missed the cut.
A calamitous first round gave him too much to do, despite a heroic rally on day two which was played out on an emotional tidal wave of support.
At 36, McIlroy is well aware that he may not have many more opportunities to win an Open among his ain folk.
'If venues matter to you, it maybe puts a little bit more pressure on you,' McIlroy said. 'I would love to win an Open at Portrush, absolutely. I would love to win an Open at St Andrews. I would love to win a US Open at Pebble Beach.
'There are venues in the game that just mean a little bit more. It's a little like when [Novak] Djokovic won the Olympics last year: he knew that was doing to be his final chance, and you saw the emotion and you saw how much it meant to him.
'You think about it, and you can't pretend that it's not there. But when you are on the course, you just have to go out there and play as if you're not playing at home and just play as if it's another tournament. But obviously there is a little more emphasis. There's something extra there.'
As part of a stacked field at the Renaissance that features eight of the world's top-10, McIlroy, who won the Scottish Open title in 2023, has arrived on this terrific golfing coast feeling energised. It's good to be back.
'The one thing I would say about the last couple of weeks is I felt like I could detach a little bit more and sort of hide,' McIlroy said of this refreshing change of scene from his adopted home in Florida.
'Sometimes you need that to completely get away. I feel like this world of golf can become all-encompassing if you let it.
'There's a detachment from the sort of week-in, week-out grind when you get back over here, when you play PGA Tour golf for the first 25, 30 weeks of the year. It's been lovely to get back and see some familiar faces.'