Rory McIlroy ‘feeling love of a nation' at Royal Portrush as he reveals biggest surprise from opening round at The Open
The
Royal
Portrush on Thursday and shot a -1 round of 70.
He was cheered on by a home country crowd in Antrim, and expressed his gratitude for that support.
"I feel the support of an entire country out there which is a wonderful position to be in.
"At the same time, you don't want to let them down so there is that little bit of added pressure.
Read More on Rory McIlroy
"I felt I dealt with it very well today, certainly better than I did six years ago.
"Just happy to get off to a good start and get myself into the tournament."
It makes for a far better start than he endured in 2019, when McIlroy missed the cut as compatriot
Both men are in contention to make the weekend six years on, with both among 12 players on -1.
Most read in Golf
Three shots forward,
McIlroy admitted to being surprised at the low scoring in the early offing, but is glad to be so close to the leaders.
Rory McIlroy explains haircut at Scottish Open
He added: "I know there are a few guys on four under but I am surprised four under is leading.
"I thought someone might have went out there and shot six or seven out there today.
"Only three back with 54 holes to go, I am pretty happy with where I am."
On Wednesday, McIlroy gave his fans a thrill by wearing his Green Jacket to Portrush as he collected the Golfer of the Year award from the Association of
Golf
Writers.
He was mobbed walking across the first fairway for the awards, prompting chants of 'Rory, Rory'.
And he admitted the chance to win
Rory said: 'The reception I've had here has made this week a celebration of what I have achieved in my career but it's also an opportunity I want to embrace.
'Being in this position is the stuff of dreams. It has been an incredible year.'
1
Rory McIlroy at The Open
Credit: Getty Images - Getty
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
9 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Rory McIlroy and his alma mater's key role in the formation of Irish education
In the extensive media coverage of Rory McIlroy's, ultimately unsuccessful, attempt to win the Open at Royal Portrush and his recent Master's triumph, it was sometimes mentioned that he is a former pupil of Sullivan Upper School in Holywood, Co Down. You may even have heard that the school was particularly supportive of young McIlroy's early career and with the understanding and authority of his school principal, he was allowed extensive absence from school to allow him to take part in many golf tournaments around the world. However, it is not widely known or appreciated that Rory's alma mater takes its name from Dr Robert Sullivan who was a significant figure in the history of education in Ireland. Robert Sullivan's father, Daniel, is thought to have come from Co Kerry to take up a post in the revenue service in Holywood and Robert was born there on January 3rd, 1800. READ MORE His father left home and left Robert and his three brothers to be brought up in relative poverty by their mother Mary (nee McClement). Robert excelled at school and was given a free place in 1819 at the Academical Institution in Belfast. This establishment survives to this day as the Royal Belfast Academical Institution or 'Inst'. The story goes that, at least for a time, he walked the eight miles or so there and back daily from his home in Holywood. After leaving Belfast he seems to have worked as a private tutor at Tyrrel's Park in Co Westmeath, Thurles and Dublin and earned enough money to send some back to his mother in Holywood. Then he went on to study law at Trinity College Dublin in 1824 and graduated in 1829 obtaining an MA in 1832. The national system of education in Ireland was established in 1831 by ministerial directive under the auspices of the then Irish chief secretary, Lord Stanley. A board of commissioners of national education was set up and schools associated with the board were to be known as national schools. In 1832 Robert Sullivan was appointed as one of the four inspectors of schools for Ireland, with responsibility for Ulster. Sullivan fully subscribed to the principle of non-sectarian or non-denominational education introduced by the Stanley reforms. He saw the role of the teacher as crucial in countering the prejudice and intolerance found in society Soon after taking up his post as school inspector, Sullivan observed a great deficiency in the availability of suitable textbooks used in the national schools. He then began, to write a number of school textbooks himself, including subjects such as geography, English and also published a dictionary,. The books were initially declined by the commissioners of education and then, when published on his own account, were sold to the board of education at a reduced price. In 1868, the year of Sullivan's death, his books were selling at a rate of a quarter of a million copies per year. In 1838, Sullivan accepted the position of professor of teacher training at the board's training college in Marlborough Street, Dublin and concurrently as superintendent of the central model schools beside the college. In these roles up to 1868, Sullivan exercised a great influence on teachers and teaching practices throughout the length and breadth of Ireland. After his death, his executors carried out his instructions to distribute a portion of the £45,000 he had accrued from his years of work and sale of his textbooks. About £4,000 went to the existing national schools in Holywood which later merged with another school to form Holywood Primary school which continues to serve the town today. The original building, now restored and refurbished, still exists in the main street of Holywood and is home to the town library. A further £8,000 to £9,000 was left at the discretion of the trustees to promote national or unsectarian education in Holywood. This was used to set up the Sullivan Upper School for older children in 1877 and moved to its present site at the western edge of the town in 1939. As part of Sullivan's non-sectarian legacy, the board of governors of the school included representatives from all the churches in Holywood at the time and indeed still does. Today, the current Sullivan Upper School is a successful and highly regarded non-denominational Voluntary Grammar School with about 1200 students and an associated Prep School of about 200. It takes its name from its great benefactor as well as the Sullivan family coat of arms and its motto, which makes it, if not the only school, then one of the very few, to have a motto in Irish: 'Lámh foisdineach an uachtar' (With the gentle hand foremost). Prof Robert Joseph Sullivan was laid to rest in 1868 in the Old Priory church in Holywood. Nearby, a blue plaque, provided jointly by the Ulster History Circle and Sullivan Upper School, is to be found, close to the location where the thatched cottage in which he was born once stood. It describes him simply as an educationalist and benefactor. John Stevenson was the Principal of Sullivan Upper School from 1998 to 2010
The Irish Sun
39 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Marcus Rashford to Barcelona is most intriguing move all summer – leaving Manchester goldfish bowl could save his career
ONLY one Englishman has played competitive football for Barcelona in the last 100 years. When Gary Lineker arrived at the Nou Camp in 1986, he had just won the World Cup Golden Boot and was about to finish runner-up in the Ballon d'Or. 10 Marcus Rashford's move to Barcelona is the most intriguing in recent memory Credit: Getty 10 Rashford will be only the second Englishman to play for Barcelona in over 100 years, following Gary Lineker Credit: Getty 10 Rashford has a chance to reignite his career at the spiritual home of the beautiful game Credit: Getty He would go on to score a hat-trick in El Clasico, lift a European trophy and win the Copa del Rey. So the fact that Marcus Rashford is about to become only the second Englishman in the modern era to play at the spiritual home of the beautiful game is perhaps the most intriguing move of the summer. Rashford, the member of Manchester United's unwanted 'bomb squad'. READ MORE SPORT STORIES Rashford, whose form has fallen off a cliff. Rashford, whose once-saintly reputation has fallen from the clouds. During the pandemic, Rashford earned an MBE for his campaigning work against child poverty and hunger. Back then, he was lauded as the unofficial Leader of the Opposition. Yet this January, Ruben Amorim claimed Rashford's attitude was so poor that he would rather Most read in Football CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS And now here is Rashford joining the champions of Spain, signing for the club where Johan Cruyff and Pep Guardiola elevated football into an art form. Earlier in the summer, Rashford had been openly touting himself for a move to Barca. Marcus Rashford says he wants to play with Lamine Yamal at Barcelona in transfer plea He was talking up the prospect of playing alongside Lamine Yamal, the most thrilling teenage footballer in the world. And it all sounded like wishful thinking, like some weird shisha-pipe dream. So news that Barca After Amorim's damning public comments, Rashford sealed a loan move to Aston Villa, where he performed pretty well, playing in a Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain - assisting the goal which won Villa the second leg but still left them a goal shy of winning the tie. There was enough in that Villa loan spell to prompt Thomas Tuchel to select Rashford in his first England team in March and to persuade Barca that Rashford is worth a punt, on loan with an option to buy next summer. There is a feeling that Rashford could benefit from being out of the Manchester goldfish bowl, yet playing for Barca brings extreme demands. Before Jude Bellingham's first Clasico appearance for Real Madrid in 2023, Lineker told me: 'We think Premier League footballers operate under a lot of pressure, and they do, but it's nothing compared to playing for Barcelona and Real Madrid. 'When I was at Barcelona, it was a middle-class crowd - most working-class people couldn't afford to go. 'The Socios, who owned shares in the club, formed a lot of the crowd and for them it was like going to the opera or ballet - they sat back and expected to be entertained. 'In a bog-standard Spanish league game it could be very quiet and if you started badly, after 15 minutes they could get on your back and start whistling at you. While things have changed a little, it's still largely true.' 10 So Rashford hasn't taken an easy option here. He has also taken a 15 per cent cut on his £320,000 weekly United wage. This is a man still determined to prove himself at the very top. Joining Barcelona, even on loan, is a significant step up from United - who will play no European football this coming season. A Rashford's infamous sicknote after a And he is widely said to have knuckled down while at Villa. But will Rashford start regularly for Barca, with Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Ferran Torres already vying for places in Hansi Flick's front three? Rashford is most effective cutting inside from the left flank, which is where former Leeds man Raphinha has been operating with great success. 10 Teaming up with Lamine Yamal is an exciting opportunity for Rashford Credit: Getty Still, this is a remarkable opportunity for Rashford to revive his career with LaLiga's champions - and he may even get to grace the revamped Nou Camp, should it actually re-open at some point this season. And on October 26, he has the chance to play in the greatest club fixture on Earth, against Real in the Bernabeu in the first Clasico of the season - a match which may also feature his England team-mates Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Just two years ago, Rashford was one of United's few reliable players and a regular England starter. At the age of 27, his peak may still be to come. There would be no greater place to realise his full potential than at Barcelona. But, as the only Englishman to have played for Barca in the last century has warned, there are few tougher places to win over your audience. WALES FAILS THERE were no Welshmen in the British and Irish Lions' matchday squad for Saturday's victory over Australia in Brisbane. There were no Welshmen teeing off among a 156-strong field at the Open Championship at Portrush. There were no Welshmen playing regularly for the top six clubs in last season's Premier League table. And as for the Welsh women, they were sent home from the Euros with nul points, having shipped 13 goals in three games. Whatever happened to a once-great sporting nation? 10 What has happened to the once-great sporting nation that is Wales Credit: Shutterstock Editorial BRIT OF A DOWNER FROM a British perspective, it would have been lovely to have seen Rory McIlroy claim the Claret Jug in his native Northern Ireland at the weekend. And for Daniel Dubois to have become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Yet sometimes you simply have to marvel at those sportsmen who come remarkably close to achieving perfection in their field. Scottie Scheffler and Oleksandr Usyk are two of those rare beasts. And given that the bear-like Scheffler weighs in at just above the 14st 4lb cruiserweight limit, perhaps he's the man to give Usyk a decent fight? 10 Scottie Scheffler could be the man to take on Usyk Credit: AFP 10 Daniel Dubois lost his big fight against Oleksandr Usyk on a frustrating weekend for British sports fans Credit: EPA BIG SAM'S BIG MURAL A TEN-FOOT-HIGH mural of Sam Allardyce has appeared on a wall in the big man's hometown of Dudley. Allardyce is depicted eating orange chips - a spicy, battered black country delicacy. But given Big Sam's claim to fame as the shortest-lived manager of England, shouldn't he have been immortalised in paint while drinking a pint of wine instead? 10 Sam Allardyce has been immortalised in a bizarre mural in Dudley, with the ex-England boss eating local delicacy 'orange chips' Credit: PA WHAT A MAVERICK DURING Open week, I often like to amuse myself by finding the weirdest American names in the field. Among the previous winners of my imaginary comedy-name claret jug have been Fred Funk, Fuzzy Zoeller, Curtis Strange, Duffy Waldorf and Bo Van Pelt. This year it wasn't even close, thanks to Maverick McNealy. Discover your own American golfer name by simply adding your favourite Top Gun character to the name of a salad or a genre of popular music. 10 Maverick McNealy won this year's 'weirdest American name at The Open' award for 2025 Credit: Getty
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Scottie Scheffler's shuffle means we are watching greatness every time he steps on a golf course
Of all the great things that Scottie Scheffler did in marching to glory at Royal Portrush , the 153rd Open bringing him a fourth career Major and three-quarters way to a career Grand Slam, it was a moment of frailty, the one time he seemed as human as the rest of us. It encapsulated how the world number one golfer ticks. Outwardly, there was little or no emotion when his shot from a fairway bunker on the eighth hole of his final round hit the top of the trap and came back into the sand. Scheffler would run up a double-bogey six, but, like all the greats, he simply moved on to the next shot (to the fairway), then the next shot (to the green) and then to the next (a putt with his infallible TaylorMade Spider) for birdie that demonstrated the cool, clinical machine that the American has become. In truth, we are watching greatness every time he steps on to a golf course, whether Scheffler cares or not. We should care, though. READ MORE Only few players of the modern era, since when all the Majors became professional, have managed to show a level so far above all others that it is at times incomprehensible to imagine how it comes to being. Ben Hogan, was one. Jack Nicklaus, another. Tiger Woods , for sure. Others too have touched greatness, such as Arnold Palmer, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo and Rory McIlroy . [ Open diary: Scottie Scheffler proves the tallest giant among the towering dunes of Royal Portrush ] To sustain it like Scheffler, who has moved to being Tiger-esque in his outcomes, and in his own way at that, where faith and family are at the heart of his world, with golf being his work and the enabler for the life they live, makes the 29-year-old American stand apart. Where once we thought McIlroy would be the one to go on and break records set by Nicklaus (18 Major wins) or Woods (who, with Sam Snead, shares the record of 82 PGA Tour wins), Scheffler has moved to a level above all others and with no crystal ball needed to predict further wins will clock up and records will be broken. Scottie Scheffler celebrates with his wife Meredith and son Bennett at Portrush on Sunday. Photograph: Ben Brady/INPHO If he stays fit and healthy; if the inner-hunger which, since a young age has driven him, stays strong. The Scheffler shuffle may be at odds with the swings of others. It is not McIlroy. It is not Adam Scott. Unique as it is, nobody has the clubhead hitting ball with greater precision. At Portrush – where his claiming of the Claret Jug to go with the Wanamaker Trophy as PGA champion and the Masters trophies he has won twice mean only the US Open trophy is needed to become the seventh member of the elite Grand Slam club – Scheffler's figures impressively demonstrated his mastery. He was first in total strokes gained, first in strokes gained putting and second in strokes gained approach. In short, there were no weaknesses. Not with his game. Not with his mental fortitude. He has been world number one for 149 weeks in his career, the current uninterrupted streak – his fourth at the top of the official world golf rankings – has now extended to 114 weeks since May 2023. But the back story is that Scheffler's points average is 20.25, which is more than eight better than McIlroy in second and almost 13 ahead of Xander Schauffele in third. He will be there for a long time yet and is likely to move even further ahead heading into the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs. For context, the only player to hit those heights of a plus-20 average was, not surprisingly, Woods (back in July 2008), according to rankings expert Nosferatu. Another striking comparison with Woods is that Scheffler became only the second incumbent world number one to lift the Claret Jug. Woods did so three times (2000, 2005 and 2006). Scheffler has already moved into the territory of greatness and, if not obsessed with the Ws (wins) as Woods was, his actions and achievements are speaking loudest. One of the greats, already.
