Golf-McIlroy ready to ride wave of Rory Mania at Portrush
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (Reuters) -When Rory McIlroy arrived at Royal Portrush six years ago it was meant to be a glorious homecoming for Northern Ireland's most famous sportsman but his British Open hopes lasted only two rounds.
"Rory Mania" will reach new heights as golf's oldest major returns to County Antrim's stunning Causeway Coast on Thursday, but this time he insists he is better prepared to ride the wave.
Around 275,000 fans will attend the 153rd Open this week -- a figure only topped by St Andrews.
A sizeable majority will be roaring for 36-year-old McIlroy as he tries to lift the Claret Jug for a second time, having first got his hands on it at Royal Liverpool in 2014.
Former world number one McIlroy completed a long-overdue career slam when he edged out Ryder Cup team mate Justin Rose in a gripping Masters battle this year, ending an 11-year major drought.
A post-Augusta dip was perhaps not surprising, but the prospect of a return to the Portrush links where he broke the course record as a 16-year-old, albeit a much re-modelled one, has re-ignited the fire.
He was joint second at last week's Scottish Open and the five-times major winner arrives in confident mood.
McIlroy went out early for 18 holes on Monday in relative peace, before fans began swarming through the gates.
2019 MEMORIES
Asked for his recollections of 2019, McIlroy, who grew up in Hollywood, 60 miles south of Portrush, said the clamour had taken him by surprise.
"I remember the ovation I got on the first tee on Thursday and not being prepared for it or not being ready for how I was going to feel," McIlroy told reporters.
"Then the golf on Thursday felt like a bit of a blur. I try to forget that part of it."
McIlroy hit a quadruple bogey eight at the first in 2019 on his way to a 79 and while he mounted a second-round charge, a 65 could not get him past the cut.
"I'm so happy it's back so soon because I want to have another crack at it. I'm a better player, manage my game better.
"The fact that I'm here at Portrush with the Green Jacket, having completed that lifelong dream, I want to do my best this week to enjoy the reaction of the fans. But at the same time, I want to win this golf tournament, and I feel like I'm very capable of doing that."
McIlroy's friend Shane Lowry marked Portrush's long-awaited return to the Open rota in 2019 by sparking an Irish party with an emotional victory. He is also relishing a return.
"I still don't know why it came together that week," he said. "There's no real answer. It just happened. I'm very lucky. But I would love to do it again."
There has been no European winner of the Open since Lowry and three of the last four editions have been won by Americans, with Xander Schauffele arriving as defending champion.
Schauffele proved at Royal Troon that he has the patience and accuracy to survive the pitfalls of a links course, whatever the weather Gods conjure up, as Brian Harman did in 2023 in monsoon-like rain at Royal Liverpool.
World number one Scottie Scheffler cannot yet say the same with seventh place last year his best Open finish but after a stunningly consistent year, including his third major victory at the PGA Championship, he will surely be in the mix.
As ever at a British Open, the fickle elements can rip up the best laid plans and after the heat that has gripped large parts of the country, rain and wind are expected to add teeth to a treacherous par-71 layout.
Ireland's twice Open champion Padraig Harrington will hit the first ball on Thursday.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond)
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