For Rory McIlroy, professional golf rarely reaches his hometown. Born in Holywood, Northern Ireland, the five-time Major winner has largely played his trade far away from his home. In fact, since joining the PGA Tour, McIlroy has played in Northern Ireland as an official part of the Tour just once — The Open Championship 2019, which was held at the Royal Portrush Golf Club. Now, six years later, McIlroy returns to his home, hoping to right some wrongs.

Mainly because his PGA Tour debut in Northern Ireland was not something out of a fairytale. Memorable for all the wrong reasons. The 2025 Masters Champion walked out to the first tee to a standing ovation, something that must have overwhelmed him beyond his bearings. Because the normally precise golfer started with an unfortunate quadruple bogey, that set the tone for the day.

Rory McIlroy’s last time at Portrush

Recalling the time, McIlroy was candid regarding what went wrong. “It’s a major championship, everything that comes along with it, and I just think that that feeling, the walk to the first tee and then that ovation, I was still a little surprised and a little taken aback, like geez, these people really want me to win.” The Northern Irish golfer stated ahead of the 2025 Open Championship, taking place at the same venue.

The quadruple bogey was just the beginning. McIlroy carded another bogey and tried to claw back with two birdies, and was sitting at 3 over par before the sixteenth hole. In the next three holes, the PGA Tour pro went double bogey-par-triple bogey to finish the day with a disappointing 8 over par. “I think that brought its own sort of pressure and more internally from myself and not really wanting to let people down. I guess it’s just something I didn’t mentally prepare for that day or that week. But I learned pretty quickly that one of my challenges, especially in a week like this, is controlling myself and controlling that battle.” McIlroy recalled.

The then-four-time Major winner tried to claw back with a 6-under par on day 2, but that was not enough, as he missed the cut by 1 stroke. However, not all was lost for McIlroy. The debacle at Portrush gave him a valuable lesson that he still uses to his advantage. Case in point, the career-defining 2025 Masters victory. His battle with Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Rose went down to the wire, but his lessons from Portrush stayed with him, helping to guide him through the travails.

“I talked about it at the Masters on that last day. The battle on that last day wasn’t with Augusta National. It wasn’t with Bryson. It wasn’t with Justin Rose. The battle that day was with myself. I think whenever you get put in environments like that, that’s basically what it is. It’s you trying to overcome your mind and trying to give yourself that clarity to give yourself the best chance to put together a really good performance.” McIlroy explained candidly about how the tough outing at Portrush helped him in other tournaments after it.

While the Masters victory carried the weight of others, the Open Championship carries a lot of personal weight.

New-found momentum in Rory McIlroy’s favour

Despite a dip in form after the Masters, which could be attributed to the change in driver, McIlroy has found his feet again. He finished T6 at the Travelers Championship before mounting an incredible fight for the title at the Genesis Scottish Open, finishing T2. “I’m certainly encouraged by how I’ve played the last two starts, especially last week in Scotland. I think the two weeks off after the Travelers just to reset, to get over here, a bit of a change of scenery has been really nice.” McIlroy stated.

Winning a major on home soil is likely a bucket list item for several golfers, and McIlroy will get the best chance to do that. “When I was looking at the calendar for 2025, this was the tournament that was probably, I don’t know, circled, even more so than the Masters for different reasons. It’s lovely to be coming in here already with a major and everything else that’s happened this year.” The five-time major winner stated.

Do you think Rory McIlroy can claim a second major title this season and punctuate his golfing legacy even more?