Rory McIlroy driven by his new 'Everest' as he targets emotional home Open win
The Grand Slam superstar is adamant he'll get revved-up for Portrush
Rory McIlroy is adamant he'll be driven to climb the new Everest of an emotional Open success at Royal Portrush and a Claret Jug party in his homeland.
The Northern Irish superstar finally found some positivity at Oakmont with a first under-par round of this year's US Open as he shot 67 to lift his morale.
McIlroy's frustrations had boiled over at times during the week and he confessed following his Saturday round that he didn't care if he made the cut or not with his opportunity to lift the trophy and win a sixth Major long gone by that stage.
The Masters champ also reiterated his gripes over the media during his day three chat after coming off the course, but he reckons feelings of flatness and frustrations will be zapped once he gets back onto European soil and targets a famous success at Portrush in the 153rd Championship.
McIlroy said: "We've got a lot to look forward to, got our new house in London, play the Scottish and then obviously The Open at Portrush. Just trying to get myself in the right frame of mind to approach that.
'Look, I climbed my Everest in April and I think after you do something like that, you've got to make your way back down and you've got to look for another mountain to climb. An Open at Portrush is certainly one of those.
"I feel like playing an Open at Portrush already and sort of at least remembering what those feelings were like and those feelings that I was probably unprepared for at the time. And, obviously, it will be my first time sort of in public back home after winning the Masters. It should be a really nice week.
'Hopefully I can celebrate with them on Sunday night with the Claret Jug and the Green Jacket. Look, it will be amazing to go home and play in that atmosphere and see a lot of people that I still haven't seen yet. I am, I'm really looking forward to it. It was nice to end this week with a bit of a positive note with the way I played today and I'll just be looking forward to and trying to get myself prepared for Portrush.
'I'm looking forward to just getting back to Europe in general. Obviously I've got one more week over here. Play Hartford next week. I think, look, if I can't get motivated to get up for an Open Championship at home, then I don't know what can motivate me. As I said, I just need to get myself in the right frame of mind. I probably haven't been there the last few weeks.
'But getting home, having a couple weeks off before that, hopefully feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, will get me in the right place again. I feel like I got a really good feeling in my swing with the driver, which was great. Hopefully I can continue that on into next week. Physically I feel like my game's there. It's just mentally getting myself in the right frame of mind to get the best out of myself."
McIlroy was swamped by emotion and support as he missed the Portrush cut in 2019 and those memories have stayed with him as he said: 'I didn't realise how emotional I was going to be at Portrush. I think that was a thing I was unprepared for more than anything else. I remember I hit a shot into 12 or 13 Friday night obviously trying to make the cut.
"I remember the roar I got when the ball hit the green and I felt like I was about to burst into tears. Just that support and that love from your own people. So I was unprepared for that. I need to just get myself in the right frame of mind to feel those feelings again.'
Before that, McIlroy was due to leave Oakmont and celebrate the remainder of Father's Day with his daughter Poppy as he said: 'I haven't seen her yet. She's a good sleeper. I was out the door before she was up. It's always nice to get home. I feel like I live two different lives. I'm a dad and a husband when I'm away from here and then I'm who I am when I'm here. It's always nice to get away and feel a bit of normality.'
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