Rory McIlroy more at peace with his mind and his game on return to Royal Portrush

McIlroy is encouraged by how's he played in his last two starts, including finishing tied for second at last week's Scottish Open. 

When he looked ahead to 2025, The Open at Royal Portrush was a tournament Rory McIlroy looked forward to even more so than The Masters. Pic: Brian Lawless/PA Wire.

It’s become de rigeur to parse every syllable, every tilt of the head and shrug of the shoulders, when Rory McIlroy holds court. Somehow, this hasn’t changed much, if at all, since he completed his career Grand Slam at Augusta in April.

The 36-year-old has struggled to centre himself since achieving that lifetime ambition at the Masters and, of course, his decision to swerve more than a few media duties since sent the association of amateur psychologists and the body language industry into tailspins.

We’ll keep the pop psychology short here.

McIlroy exuded a sense of peace on Monday afternoon. He chuckled a few times and folded his arms loosely as he gave his usual erudite and considered takes on the world of Rory and the universe of opinions and oceans of fascination that whirl about it.

The pressure is off, one questioner said breezily.

“Is it?” McIlroy laughed. “Is the pressure off?” This ease was already apparent on the course earlier in the morning when, with golf clubs around the province providing different stewards on every hole, he delighted in seeing so many familiar faces on what is a rare competitive outing for him in these parts.

Former Ireland and British and Irish Lions legend Mike Gibson was among the other blasts from the past to sidle up and spend a brief moment with a man whose only step back from it all came when he was asked about being Ulster’s best ever sportsperson.

So much of Monday’s media spooled back on the past. How could it not?

He was asked again about setting the course record 61 for these Dunluce Links as a 16-year old back in 2006 and, inevitably, of his memories from 2019 when he hit THAT tee shot, an opening quadruple bogey, carded a 79 and ultimately missed the cut.

He had absorbed this brand of Ulster love before, at Irish Opens here in Portrush, in Royal County Down and at Portstewart, but this was worship inflated again by a fervent expectation and a yearning that ultimately worked against him.

That Thursday exists as a blur in his mind now but he does remember the roar of the crowd when he hit a six-iron to the 14th green on day two when chasing a score that might curb the worst of his opening 79 and give him a shot at the weekend.

All that is informing his approach this week.

“I guess it's just something I didn't mentally prepare for that day or that week, but I learned pretty quickly that one of my challenges, especially in a week like this, is controlling myself and controlling that battle.

“I talked about it at the Masters on that last day. The battle on that last day wasn't with Augusta National. It wasn't with Bryson [DeChambeau]. It wasn't with Justin Rose. The battle that day was with myself.

“Whenever you get put in environments like that, that's basically what it is. It's you trying to overcome your mind and trying to give yourself that clarity to give yourself the best chance to put together a really good performance.” 

There’s no doubt but that McIlroy put far too much pressure on himself six years ago. Shane Lowry shared here how his friend had declared that 2019 Open to be the biggest tournament he would likely ever play in the days beforehand.

But the past can be overplayed. McIlroy, when asked to go back over that 61 in ’06, framed it in the context of how TrackMans weren’t even a thing back then, and added that the very course itself has been altered significantly since. Time moves on, so has he.

Ultimately, this is all academic, conjecture and fluff designed to keep us occupied before the first tee on Thursday. More integral to the question as to what McIlroy might do at an Open here second time around is his current form.

Finishing joint second at the Genesis Scottish Open reaffirmed a return to something approaching his best when paired with his previous effort in ending in a tie for sixth at the Travelers Championship in late June.

And his readiness was obvious when landing in Portrush at 1am on Monday so that he could take to the course at 7am on the back of just four hours sleep in and get some prep in before the circus that is The Open got into full swing.

“I'm certainly encouraged by how I've played the last two starts, especially last week in Scotland. I think the two weeks off after the Travelers just to reset, to get over here, a bit of a change of scenery, has been really nice.

“When I was looking at the calendar for 2025, this was the tournament that was probably, I don't know, circled, even more so than the Masters for different reasons. It's lovely to be coming in here already with a major and everything else that's happened this year.

“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 had… Not that last week was a pure preparation week, but I definitely feel like it put me in a good spot heading into here.”