'You don't want to let them down' – Rory McIlroy on pressure of being home hope
After going home early six years ago when the championship returned to the Causeway Coast, an hour's drive from where he grew up in Holywood, the Masters champion knew he could not afford to get it wrong this time around.
Advertisement
There was even greater support off the back of his completion of the career Grand Slam at Augusta and galleries 10 deep followed him throughout a round which threatened to be a memorable one for those privileged enough to witness it, but ended up being just satisfactory.
The crowd liked that.
A birdie for Rory on 5.
pic.twitter.com/IM6M1hV7N3
— The Open (@TheOpen)
July 17, 2025
At three under par through 10 and one shot off the lead, he had three bogeys in four holes and needed a birdie at the 17th to get back to one under and only three behind.
'I feel the support of an entire country out there, which is a wonderful position to be in, but at the same time, you don't want to let them down so there's that little bit of added pressure,' McIlroy said.
'I felt like I dealt with it really well today. I certainly dealt with it better than I did six years ago.
Advertisement
'I was just happy to get off to a good start and get myself into the tournament.
'I'm surprised four under is leading. I thought someone might have gone out there and shot six or seven (under) today.
'Only three back with 54 holes to go, I'm really happy with where I am.'
McIlroy's round of 70 had promised so much more, despite his driving, one of his strengths, being unusually wayward.
Advertisement
He was ranked 154th out of 156 players in the field, having hit just two fairways all day.
'I had it going three under through 10 and let a few slip there around the middle of the round,' he said.
'I steadied the ship well, played the last four at one under and it was nice to shoot under par.
'I felt like, once we turned for home, played 10 and turned back and played 11, the wind picked up a little bit and it just became that little bit more difficult.
Advertisement
'It was a tough enough day, especially either chopping out of the rough or out of the fairway bunkers most of the time so to shoot under par was a good effort.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
13 minutes ago
- The Sun
Padraig Harrington seals another major after storming to ISPS HANDA Senior Open Championship glory
PADRAIG HARRINGTON stormed to a sensational Senior Open victory on Sunday - landing his second senior major title of the season in style. The three-time major champ took a two-shot lead into the final round at Sunningdale, and never looked back as he closed out a dominant wire-to-wire win. 2 2 He got off to a flyer with a stunning eagle at the first, before picking up birdies at six and nine to keep the momentum going. The Dubliner's only blemish on the front nine came at the eighth, where he dropped a shot with a bogey. But the Stackstown golf legend hit back in style to see out his second senior major title of the year after his win at the US Open in Colorado last month. He then carded another birdie at the 14th to stretch his lead to three shots over Justin Leonard, holding firm as the pressure mounted from the American. And the 2024 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee then held his nerve as after a bogey on 17, prior to finding a tough lie in the bunker on his approach. But the chasing Leonard couldn't make a par putt as Harrington maintained the three-shot lead heading up the last with caddie Ronan Flood. 53-year-old Harrington negotiated the last with a par to finish on -3 for his final round for a sixteen under par total as he lapped up the applause from a huge crowd in Berkshire. He finished three-strokes ahead of Thomas Bjorn and Justin Leonard, who signed-off for a total of -13 at Sunningdale. It's was his third senior major after wins at the 2022 and 2025 US Open Championships. He joins Darren Clarke and Christy O'Connor Jr as the only men from the Emerald Isle to win the Senior Open Championship crown. There was an overall purse of $2.85m on offer- - and a first prize of $447,800 for Harrington.
Telegraph
13 minutes ago
- Telegraph
England's Lottie Woad taking golf by storm after winning first professional start
In another life, Lottie Woad may very well have been turning out for the Lionesses in their Euro 2025 final on Sunday night. Instead, this remarkable young Englishwoman was making history of her own by winning on her first professional start at the Women's Scottish Open. It is fair to say that Woad made the correct choice as a highly-rated 12-year-old in the Southampton Academy. This huge Leeds United fan opted for the smaller ball and vowed to achieve huge things. And despite being in the baby steps of her career it is already a case of mission accomplished. This was no middling event in which she broke her maiden tag at her first attempt (although she was already a winner of a professional tournament). Sanctioned by the LPGA Tour, the tournament at Dundonald featured four of the world's top 10, including No 1 Nelly Korda. Ostensibly it is used as a links tune-up week for the Women's Open, the season's final major which begins at Royal Porthcawl. But it takes some winning, as it should with a $300,000 (£223,000) winning cheque. And the fact that Woad looked utterly nerveless in compiling a 21-under total to beat major winner Kim Hyo-joo by three shots, with Korda a further five strokes behind in fifth makes her success that much more fantastical. However, this was no fluke and definitely would not be classed as such. Three Sundays before she won the Irish Women's Open and the Ladies European Tour as an amateur – defeating English No 1 Charley Hull in the process – and the Sunday after came within a stroke of making the play-off at the Evian Championship and having the chance of becoming the first amateur in 58 years to win a major. Everything on Woad's CV pointed to her being an overnight success in the paid ranks, not least that she did not rush to join the superstars, first going through the age groups with England Golf and then not breaking this link or leaving her long-time coach, Luke Done, when inevitably crossing the channel to enrol in US college. Woad, who has only recently finished up at Florida State University, was the world No 1 amateur for more than a year, a period of dominance during which she won the Augusta National Women's Amateur on the hallowed Masters layout in 2024. It has been clear for a long time that the 21-year-old from Farnham, Surrey could be something special. In April, Karen Stupples, the 2004 Women's Open champion, told Telegraph Sport that ' Lottie is the best golf prospect the UK has produced since Rory McIlroy ' and explained what makes her stand apart. 'Clutch putting is an intangible that separates the great from the good – and she has it,' Stupples said. 'With her temperament and nerve, she'll be very suited to the professional game.' This was evident at the Ayrshire links where Woad grabbed the lead in the second round courtesy of a 65 and never looked back. Saying that, she was caught by Kim after 12 holes and the atmosphere intensified. No matter, Woad simply birdied the next two holes this time she was not about to squander the advantage. As accomplished as her putting happens to be, there is no doubt that her approach play is world class and on the 18th she spun in a wedge to a few feet. There was no wild celebration with caddie Dermot Byrne – formerly Shane Lowry's bagman – which was just added evidence that this is where she expects to be. 'I didn't know she'd got back to level and knew it would be quite tight, as I was only a couple under at the turn,' Woad said, following her 68. 'When I had the two birdies early on the back nine I knew I probably had a bit of a lead by then. 'I was just hoping to contend and played really solid today. It was pretty nice in the end, being able to lay up on the par five.I definitely wasn't expecting to win my first event, but knew I was playing well. It [winning] is a pretty good outcome, I guess.' If Woad was any more laid back she genuinely would have her own reading on the Stimpmeter. She is adamant that it did not bother her that had she been a pro she would have collected almost £400,000 for her heroics at the Irish and Evians. 'I knew that going into those events, so I didn't think about it, no,' she said. 'And honestly, I don't even know how much I've won today. I just know that if I play well then all that will take care of itself.' And what about Porthcawl where she will now command the spotlight after becoming the first Briton to win on her first start as a pro on the US circuit? 'I'm excited as I don't get to play links too often – this is my first time playing links golf since the AIG Women's Open last year [at St Andrews where she finished tied for 10th],' Woad, who is already in the world's top 30 said. 'I wasn't exactly sure how it would go. But it went fine.'
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Lottie Woad wins Scottish Open on professional debut
Lottie Woad rounded off the month of her life with a consummate win on her professional debut at the Women's Scottish Open. The 21-year-old's cover as a fantastic prodigy has long been blown and so it was no surprise to see her shedding all challengers as she made her way to the title and the $300,000 (£220,000) prize on Dundonald Links. 'It's a pretty good outcome I guess,' she said in her understated way. 'I definitely wasn't expecting to win my first event. I was just hoping to contend. It was the first time playing links golf since the Open last year so I was not exactly sure how it would go — but it was fine.' Woad was utterly unflustered when her two-stroke overnight lead was whittled away by Kim Hyo-joo, and as the Korean faltered, the woman from Farnham whetted every appetite for this week's AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl. Even when she lost a shot on the 16th, her solitary bogey, she managed the climax with a minimum of fuss. On the final hole, a par five, she played it safe with a lay-up but still made a birdie to give her a round of 68 and a three-stroke victory margin at 21 under par. It has been a remarkable July. She followed up her win at the Women's Irish Open with a third place at the Evian Championship, the fourth major of the year. Her amateur status meant she missed out on what would have been about £450,000 in prize money, and the Florida State star decided to turn professional a week ago. This was some start but she looks immune to the spiralling hype. A smile, handshake and then hug for her parents, Rachel and Nick, ensued. 'My dad has been here all week and mum got the train up last night, so I was hoping I would not mess it up,' she said. Kim, a major winner in 2014, drew level on the back nine and a quality field had been reduced to a duel. But the momentum shifted decisively within the space of a minute when Kim bogeyed the 15th and Woad made a birdie on the 14th. That two-shot swing put her back in charge and one of the most impressive things about what followed was the sense of inevitability rather than any understandable sign of nerves. When Kim made a second successive bogey on the 16th the writing was on the wall and the name was as good as on the trophy. The attention is not new and Woad had already been attracting plenty of plaudits by the time she won the Augusta National Women's Amateur last year. She rose to the top of the amateur rankings and her form this year meant the debate quickly turned to when she would join the LPGA. As has also been the case on the men's circuit, Woad is showing how the US collegiate system is producing players ready to compete and win on the pro tours without an acclimatization period. The publicity and expectation will now intensify ahead of Royal Porthcawl but so far Woad, tenth in last year's Open, has taken everything in her stride. Joining her in Wales will be Spain's Julia Lopez Ramirez, who had the round of the day with a 65 to finish third and book her place in the final major of the year. Nelly Korda, the world No1, had a miserable Sunday with four back-nine bogeys dropping her to fifth place, some eight shots adrift of Woad. Padraig Harrington won his second senior major of the year at Sunningdale when he held off Justin Leonard and Thomas Bjorn to win the Senior Open by three shots. The Irishman, 53, also won the Senior US Open in Colorado last month.
