McIlroy falls short in bid to crown British Open homecoming with the claret jug
They were all over the Dunluce Links again Sunday, those passionate supporters of Rory McIlroy cheering on their favorite son in the final act of his homecoming — whether they were watching him or not.
The big disappointment for McIlroy was that he couldn't deliver what they craved.
'It's been an awesome week,' McIlroy said after shooting 2-under 69 to tie for seventh at the British Open. 'I've gotten everything I wanted out of this week apart from a claret jug, and that's just because one person was just a little bit better than the rest of us.'
That might be an understatement.
Scheffler, the world No. 1, won by four shots to capture his fourth major title. He was seven strokes clear of McIlroy and playing on a different level in this pretty corner of Northern Ireland.
McIlroy even acknowledged as much.
'He's an incredible player,' he said of Scheffler. 'He's been dominant this week. Honestly, he's been dominant for the last couple years. He is the bar that we're all trying to get to.'
As for Scheffler, he could only apologize for spoiling the McIlroy party.
'I know I wasn't the fan favorite today,' he said, grinning, in his post-round speech on No. 18, 'but I did hear a lot of USA and Dallas, Texas chants.'
Scheffler might have won two majors this year and asserted himself as the game's dominant player. Yet, for many, 2025 still belongs to McIlroy after his dramatic win at the Masters in April to complete the career Grand Slam.
Fans came in droves this week to celebrate McIlroy's achievements, and produced some of the loudest roars he has ever heard on a golf course.
If McIlroy didn't quite deliver, then Royal Portrush — where he shot 61 as a 16-year-old for the course record — certainly did, gaining widespread rave reviews.
When the Open returned to Portrush in 2019 for the first time in 68 years, McIlroy was so emotional he hit his opening drive out-of-bounds, shot 79 and missed the cut.
He made amends six years later.
'I feel so thankful and just so lucky that I get to do this in front of this crowd,' McIlroy said. 'Hopefully I'll have one or two Opens left here, if the R&A decide to keep coming back — probably one while I'm still competitive and another one while I'm more gray than I already am.'
McIlroy started Sunday six strokes back from Scheffler after a wild third-round 66, and needed a minor miracle to catch his big rival.
He got up-and-down for birdie at the par-5 second hole but couldn't make a fast enough start. A bogey at No. 4, after missing the green with his approach, was a mistake he couldn't afford and he suddenly was eight shots adrift of Scheffler, who played as steady as ever.
A double at No. 10 ended his hopes.
McIlroy couldn't reproduce his Saturday charge but at least played all four days this time.
'I tried as best as I could to keep my emotions in check, especially walking up the last there and that reception,' McIlroy said.
'It's just been incredible to come back here and to play and at least feel like I had a chance today going out there. Just an awesome week.'
___
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
44 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Frank Reich excited about Bryce Young's resurgence after ‘terrible' start to QB's NFL career
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Stanford interim head football coach Frank Reich was walking to dinner in downtown Charlotte with four of his Cardinal players on Monday night when he heard a familiar voice from a passing car. 'Coach Reich, coach Reich!' the voice said. Soon the car stopped and pulled over and Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young popped his head out the window to say hello and catch up with the coach who drafted him No. 1 overall in the 2023. Reich, viewed as a developer of quarterbacks, had been entrusted with Young's growth under center but the relationship was cut short early when Panthers owner David Tepper fired Reich just 11 games into his first season after a 1-10 start to the 2023 season. Young struggled under Reich's tutelage, something that carried over to 2024 when the former Heisman Trophy winner was benched two games into the season by new coach Dave Canales. Young would remain on the bench until veteran Andy Dalton sprained his thumb in a car accident in late October, allowing him to reclaim the starting job. Young made the most of his second chance. He finished the season with a flurry, completing 65% of his passes for 612 yards with seven touchdowns and no interceptions in his final three starts. Young accounted for five TDs — three passing and two rushing — in the Panthers' season-ending 44-38 overtime win against Atlanta, giving the franchise hope that he had finally turned the corner. 'I'm happy for Bryce,' Reich said Tuesday at ACC media days of Young's resurgence. 'We all know he was a good player.' Reich said the way things started in the NFL for Young was 'terrible.' 'It was terrible for him; it was terrible for all of us who were a part of it,' Reich said. 'There were so many things to unwind there before it could get going in the right direction and that just takes time. Sometimes you are given time as a head coach and sometimes you're not.' When asked what he meant by 'things to unwind,' Reich declined to elaborate, indicating he was only making a general statement. Reich said he has no regrets about his decision to start Young as a rookie in Week 1. 'To me I still hold the philosophy that if you're the first pick in the NFL draft, you're starting,' Reich said. 'To me that is a universal football principle. You're drafted number one, you're starting week one. Now if the rest of the roster isn't ready to support you, that's a different question. And sometimes it just takes a younger guy time to develop.' Young will open his third NFL season as Carolina unquestioned starting quarterback when the Panthers begin training camp on Wednesday in Charlotte. ___ AP NFL:
Hamilton Spectator
44 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
A historic win by 45-year-old Venus Williams resonates and shows there are no limits for excellence
WASHINGTON (AP) — There are plenty of reasons why this particular victory by Venus Williams in this particular tennis match — just one of hundreds — resonated with so many folks. That she's 45, for one thing. Only one woman, Martina Navratilova, ever has won a tour-level singles match while older; her last victory came at 47 in 2004. That Williams hadn't entered a tournament anywhere in 16 months. That she needed surgery for uterine fibroids. And when asked Tuesday night after beating her 23-year-old opponent, Peyton Stearns , 6-3, 6-4 at the DC Open what message others might take away from that performance and that result, Williams was quick to provide an answer. 'There are no limits for excellence. It's all about what's in your head and how much you're able to put into it. If you put in the work mentally, physically, and emotionally, then you can have the result,' she said. 'It doesn't matter how many times you fall down. Doesn't matter how many times you get sick or get hurt or whatever it is. If you continue to believe and put in the work, there is an opportunity, there is space, for you.' Williams has been winning at tennis for decades. Her pro debut came when she was 14. Her first Grand Slam title came at Wimbledon in 2000, less than a month after her 20th birthday. She accumulated four major singles trophies before Stearns was born and eventually wound up with seven, five at Wimbledon and two at the U.S. Open, plus another 14 in women's doubles — all with her sister Serena — and two in mixed doubles. 'I have so much respect for her to come back here and play, win or lose. That takes a lot of guts to step back onto court, especially with what she's done for the sport,' said Stearns, who is ranked 35th and won NCAA singles and team titles at the University of Texas. 'You have a lot behind you. You have accomplished a lot. And there is a lot of pressure on her and to kind of upkeep that at this age. So massive credit to her for that.' There were challenges along the way for Williams, none more public than the diagnosis in 2011 of Sjögren's syndrome, an energy-sapping auto-immune disease that can cause joint pain. More recent was the pain from fibroids — noncancerous growths — and shortly before the DC Open, Williams said: 'Where I am at this year is so much different (from) where I was at last year. It's night and day, being able to be here and prepare for the tournament as opposed to preparing for surgery.' As thrilled as the spectators — 'Who I love, and they love me,' Williams said — were to be able to watch, and pull, for her under the lights Tuesday, other players were rather excited about it, too. 'I commend her so much for being out here,' said Taylor Townsend. Naomi Osaka's take: 'She's, like, the queen. There's a royal air around her.' 'She's one of the best athletes of all time,' Frances Tiafoe said. 'Her and her sister, they're not only great for the women's game, not only great for women's sports, but they are so iconic.' Yet, there were some on social media who wondered whether it made sense for the tournament to award a wild-card entry to Williams instead of an up-and-coming player. DC Open chairman Mark Ein said it took him about two seconds to respond 'Of course' when Williams' representative reached out in April to ask whether a spot in the field might be a possibility. A reporter wanted to know Tuesday whether Williams took any satisfaction from proving doubters wrong. 'No, because I'm not here for anyone else except for me. And I also have nothing to prove. Zip. Zero. I'm here for me, because I want to be here,' she said. 'And proving anyone wrong or thinking about anyone has never gotten me a win and has never gotten me a loss.' ___ Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: . More AP tennis:
CNN
44 minutes ago
- CNN
Venus Williams, 45, becomes oldest player to win WTA singles match in more than 20 years
Venus Williams rolled back the years to produce a brilliant display as she eliminated fellow American Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-4 to reach the round of 16 of the DC Open. Williams, 45, becomes the oldest player to win a singles match on the WTA Tour since Martina Navratilova won in the first round of Wimbledon in 2004 aged 47. It was Williams' second tour victory in as many days after she recorded a doubles win at the DC Open alongside Hailey Baptiste on Monday. 'You know, it's the first step, and the first match is always extremely difficult,' Williams said after the match, per the WTA. 'It's hard to describe how difficult it is to play a first match after so much time off. 'So going into the match, I know I have the ability to win, but it's all about actually winning. So this is the best result, to play a good match and win. 'I'm here with my friends, family, people I love, and the fans too, who I love and they love me, so this has been just a beautiful night.' It was an impressive display from Williams against world No. 35 Stearns, fighting back from a break to love in her opening service game and again effectively using her aggressive serving and returning as a weapon. Tuesday's win was Williams' first singles match on tour since an opening-round defeat to Diana Shnaider at the Miami Open in March 2024, while her last victory came in 2023 against Veronika Kudermetova in the opening round of the Cincinnati Open. Monday was also Williams' first doubles match in almost three years, and until this week she had been listed as 'unactive' on the WTA Tour. Over the course of her career, the American former world No. 1 won seven grand slam singles titles and 14 in doubles alongside younger sister Serena – as well as two mixed doubles grand slam titles in 1998. 'There are no limits for excellence,' Williams said. 'It's all about what's in your head and how much you're able to put into it. If you put in the work mentally, physically and emotionally, then you can have the result. 'It doesn't matter how many times you fall down. Doesn't matter how many times you get sick or get hurt or whatever it is. If you continue to believe and put in the work, there is an opportunity, there is space for you.' Williams faces a tough test in Poland's world No. 24 Magdalena Fręch in the next round on Thursday, while her next doubles match with Baptiste is scheduled for Wednesday against fellow American Taylor Townsend and China's Zhang Shuai. Following the match, Williams also spoke about her recent engagement to Italian actor Andrea Preti, who was in attendance to watch her play for the first time. 'My fiancé is here and he really encouraged me to keep playing,' Williams said. 'There were so many times where I just wanted to coast and kind of chill. 'Do you know how hard it is to play tennis? You guys don't know how much work goes into this, like it's 9 to 5 except you're running the whole time. Lifting weights and just like dying and then you repeat it the next day. 'So he encouraged me to get through this and it's wonderful to be here. He's never seen me play.'
