Rory McIlroy sounds Portrush rallying call as he ends US Open on a high
Rory McIlroy is ready for a new challenge after 'climbing my Everest' of winning the Masters and has set his sights on next month's Open at Portrush.
McIlroy ended a difficult week at the US Open on a high on Sunday, going some way to exorcising the demons of an Oakmont course that had tortured him for the first three days.
The 36-year-old played his best golf of the week, with the sort of accuracy and guile that he would have longed for on Thursday and Friday, carding a three-under-par 67 to finish on seven over.
It was not just the bruising difficulty of Oakmont which had him feeling fuzzy-headed this week, though, as McIlroy still suffers the hangover of that momentous win at Augusta in April, where he became just the sixth male player to complete a career grand slam of majors.
He has accepted that he needs time to regain his focus and knows next month's Open on home soil in Northern Ireland is the place to do it.
'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,' he said. 'An Open at Portrush is certainly one of those.
'If I can't get motivated to get up for an Open Championship at home, then I don't know what can motivate me.
'I just need to get myself in the right frame of mind. I probably haven't been there the last few weeks.'
Next month's final major of the year is just 65 miles from where he grew up playing at Holywood and it will be his first visit to Northern Ireland since winning the green jacket and completing the set.
'I feel like playing an Open at Portrush already (in 2019) and at least remembering what those feelings were like and those feelings that I was probably unprepared for at the time,' he said.
'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.
'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'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 yeah, I'll just be looking forward to and trying to get myself prepared for Portrush.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Spaun writes his Oakmont fairytale as magical putt seals wet and wild US Open
A week that began with JJ Spaun diving into how his Sawgrass showdown with Rory McIlroy had elevated his game ended with the unheralded American joining the Irishman in the 2025 major winners' circle. But so much happened in between Spaun's early Thursday 66 and his closing act which clinched an utterly enthralling US Open. Scratch that. So much happened between Spaun's Sunday front nine and his remarkable back nine. Ultimately when the years roll by and whatever comes next comes, one happening will last forever in the memory banks. Needing a par on a soaked-right-through 18th hole to clinch a major win which may go down as one of the least likely in a decade or more, Spaun stepped over a 64-footer for birdie knowing two putts would be enough to change his life forever. He needed just one. J.J. Spaun 🥶 What a way to win the U.S. Open! 🏆 — Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) June 16, 2025 Having been given a good guide of both line and speed by playing partner Viktor Hovland, Spaun sent a scintillating snaking putt off to meet its moment on the last of the 18 bewitching greens which had bewildered so many of the game's best all week. As the ball got about two thirds of the way along its journey it started to turn and roll and turn again. Its destination became clear: immortality. Spaun was the last man standing after a gruelling week of golf. Of the 156 players who'd pitched up to the hallowed turf in Pittsburgh, he was the only one to finish under par, just one of many wild statistics which will be pored over in the days, weeks and months to come. The 34-year-old, who'd begun the year ranked 115th in the world and had just a solitary PGA Tour victory to his name, has been having a career year. He forced McIlroy all the way to a Monday playoff at the Players in March and took inspiration away from Sawgrass. But when he started his Sunday tilt at glory in Oakmont it went awry in a hurry. He bogeyed five of his first six for a front-nine tally of 40. The golfing gods didn't look to be on his side. But the weather gods may have been. After a much-delayed afternoon, relentless rains inundating the course, Spaun re-emerged a changed man and slowly wrestled control before a birdie on 17 pushed him one clear of Scotland's Robert MacIntyre. His instantly iconic putt for the ages sealed a two-shot victory, his two young daughters rushing to embrace the Father's Day champion. 'I never thought I would be here holding this trophy,' Spaun said afterwards. 'I never knew what my ceiling was. I'm so proud I have been resilient.' As every angle of his putt was replayed one was particularly pleasing on the eye — a look inside the scorer's office where MacIntyre sat watching. The Scottish Ryder Cup star applauded and exclaimed 'wow'. There were no other words for it. Bob MacIntyre's reaction to JJ Spaun's winning putt 😲👏 — Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) June 16, 2025 MacIntyre burst into contention to become Scotland's first major winner since 1999 on Sunday at a rain-soaked Oakmont after producing an excellent two-under-par 68. That made him the clubhouse leader at one over and he looked set for at least a play-off against Spaun, who had two holes to play. But the American first sent a stunning 309-yard drive onto the green at the short par-four 17th and two-putted for a birdie before sinking his mammoth effort to seal glory. While the 17th hole helped Spaun's dreams come true, it killed Tyrell Hatton's. The Englishman was in a five-way tie for the lead at one over when he found himself still in the rough after three shots. He bogeyed that and then the 18th to finish three over. Spaun may consider the thunderstorm at around 4pm local time (9pm BST) to be divine intervention. Before the heavens opened at Oakmont and forced a 96-minute delay, the first-round leader was five over for his round after eight holes. But while leaders Sam Burns and Adam Scott floundered in the soaking conditions after the resumption, Spaun found his best game and birdies at the 12th, 14th, 17th and 18th took him to glory. Indeed, Burns and Scott could not cope after the restart as they seemed in competition to see who could find the worst positions in the rough. Burns was the overnight leader at four under but his round disintegrated after the resumption, with two double bogeys in an ugly round of eight over par to finish tied for seventh on four over. Scott, hoping to win a major for the first time in 12 years, fared even worse, going round in 79. Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler ended up tied for seventh after impressive rounds, while McIlroy, who produced his best round of a difficult week to finish on seven over, back-doored his way into another US Open top 20 finish. McIlroy was already on his flight out of Pennsylvania by the time all was settled. He'd ended another peculiar post-Masters week on a real high and had stopped to speak with the media about finding his "next Everest", hopefully at the Open back home in Portrush. But at the course he left behind there was a new face reaching his own summit. Spaun's climb is unlike perhaps any other major winner. A decade ago he was on the PGA Canada Tour and made just a single cut all season, earning himself a total prize pot of $825. He first earned his PGA Tour card in 2016 only to lose it in 2020. J.J. Spaun gets his hands on the U.S. Open trophy 🏆 — Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) June 16, 2025 On Sunday he signed for his 72 and earned $4.3m in return. A Ryder Cup place is almost certainly his and plenty more besides. "It's definitely a storybook, fairytale ending, [an] underdog fighting back, not giving up, never quitting," he said. "With the rain and everything and then the putt, I mean, you couldn't write a better story. "You watch other people do it. You see the Tiger chip, you see Nick Taylor's putt, you see crazy moments. To have my own moment like that at this championship, I'll never forget this moment for the rest of my life." -With files from PA
The Irish Sun
3 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Tearful JJ Spaun sinks monster putt on final hole as 120/1 underdog pips Robert MacIntyre to US Open crown at Oakmont
ROBERT MACINTYRE suffered the same Oakmont heartbreak as boyhood hero Colin Montgomerie as JJ Spaun pushed him into second place at the US open. At the fearsome course where Montgomerie was edged out in a play-off by Ernie Els in 1994, MacIntyre looked like going one better after a brilliant closing round of 68 saw him take the clubhouse lead at one over par. 5 American JJ Spaun won the US Open at Oakmont after a thrilling final round Credit: Getty 5 Spaun sparked wild scenes on 18 as he holed the longest putt of the whole week to win the US Open Credit: Reuters 5 Spaun celebrated with his wife and kids after his incredible Major win Credit: Reuters 5 Spaun shared a kiss with proud wife Melody Credit: Getty Spaun, who was also on one over with two holes to play, was the only man with a realistic chance of denying the young Scot. And he produced a wonder shot at the driveable par four 17th, smashing a 309 yard drive to within 18 feet of the flag. The eagle putt rolled past the hole, but Spaun showed nerves of steel to sink his three footer for birdie, and claim the outright lead. The stocky American still needed to make at least a par at the ultra-tough 18th to avoid a play-off. Read more Golf News And maybe the memories of what happened to him at The Players Championship a few months ago meant he was determined to avoid that outcome. Spaun left a putt for victory at Sawgrass hanging in the jaws of the final hole - and he was blown away by Rory McIlroy when they returned for a three hole shoot out the next day. He made absolutely sure that could not happen again by sinking a bomb from 65 FEET at the last for a two shot victory. At one under par he was the only man to finish in red figures. Most read in Golf CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 5 Robert MacIntyre's incredible 2-under-par final round had fired him into the running Credit: Reuters Spaun, who was 120/1 with the bookies at the start of the week, also had the distinction of firing the only bogey-free round of the week with his first round 66. He hung tough after that, produced a fantastic finishing flourish, and the world No 25 is now a worthy Major champion. Eagle-eyed fans spot Rory McIlroy's 'unrepeatable' magic trick in furious fit of rage at US Open It was hard on MacIntyre, who was the only player in the final SIXTEEN groups on the course to break par on day four. His weekend rounds of 69-68 would have made him a worthy winner, if world No 25 Spaun had not shown such grit after a horror start saw him drop five shots in the first six holes. MacIntyre knew he could not have done any more. He commented: 'All I can say is that I'm absolutely delighted with the way I played today. 'I got off to a rough start with a couple of early bogeys, but sinking a sixty footer for eagle on the fourth showed you can never tell what is going to happen next here 'I could see no-one was getting away from me among the guys who started out in front of me, so I had to dig in, dig in, and dig in some more. I did that. I did my best.'
RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Spaun hangs tough at Oakmont to become major champion
JJ Spaun overcome a calamitous start to his final round to finish strong and become the 125th US Open champion on a wet and wild day at Oakmont County Club. Spaun bogeyed four of his first five holes - having began the day just a shot back of third-round leader Sam Burns - but came good in the end and seized the lead late on with a phenomenal birdie on the short par-four 17th when he cracked a drive to 17 feet and two putted to move past Robert McIntyre. Scot McIntyre had had a wobbly start of his own but eventually signed for a wonderful round of 68 and took the clubhouse lead on one-over-par overall - a mark that looked likely to at least seal a place in a potential playoff. But Spaun wasn't having it. After the fireworks on 17, he played the 18th perfectly and holed a massive putt from 65 feet to claim his first major championship title with a closing 72. Overnight leader Burns and his playing partner Adam Scott both fell away in their final holes as did Tyrrell Hatton who briefly shared a five-way tie for the lead at one point. The final day was marked by a near two-hour weather delay that threatened to send the tournament to a Monday finish but eventually we got over the finish line. Scottie Scheffler shot an even-par 70 to end his week on four-over-par. Rory McIlroy eventually back-doored a top-20 finish with his best round of the week, a tidy 67 which proved the joint-best round fo the day. He has accepted that it is time to regain his focus and knows next month's Open on home soil is the place to do it. "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," McIlroy told RTÉ Sport's Greg Allen after concluding his fourth round.
