Rory McIlroy spotted wearing Green Jacket while leaving Portrush
McIlroy won the Masters after a decade of trying to complete the Grand Slam. He now returns to Northern Ireland to try to win a second Claret Jug.
The hometown hero has garnered plenty of attention since landing in Portrush on Monday and has had packed galleries follow him for his early morning practice rounds.
Now that McIlroy is back in Northern Ireland, he will have plenty of social obligations to fulfil. On Tuesday evening, he was spotted wearing his green jacket while on Portrush grounds.
The Career Grand Slam winner has been in fine form this week while mingling with fans and conducting his media duties. McIlroy had previously spoken about his lack of motivation after winning the Masters and had some tetchy exchanges with the media in that period.
Fast forward to a good finishing round at the Travelers Championship and a few weeks off, and McIlroy arrives to Portrush rejuvenated and showed signs of life by finishing second at the Scottish Open.
'I'm certainly encouraged by how I've played the last two starts, especially last week in Scotland,' he told the media.
'I'm excited with where my game is. I felt like I showed some really good signs last week. I feel like I'm in a good spot and – not that last week was a pure preparation week – but I definitely feel like it put me in a good spot heading into here.'
He gets his Open Championship underway at 3.10 pm on Thursday and will play his first two rounds alongside Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Thomas.
World Number One Scottie Scheffler will play with 2019 Champion Shane Lowry and former champion Collin Morikawa.
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