Feeling the pressure - Down buzz a double-edged sword for Rory McIlroy

McIlroy returns to home soil for this week’s Amgen Irish Open

Rory McIlroy during a media conference after the Pro Am before the Amgen Irish Open Golf Championship 2024 at the Royal County Down Golf Club in Newcastle, Down. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Royal County Down and the Amgen Irish Open is something of a match made in heaven for Rory McIlroy, yet both the venue and the tournament represent a double-edged sword for the world number three as he returns to the world-renowned links this week.

There are the memories, of course, of a national open that captured the young McIlroy’s imagination as he chased down Serio Garcia and Ernie Els’s autographs from outside the ropes while as a touring pro and major winner there was the joy of claiming victory at The K Club in 2016.