There was a lick of breeze riffling the long grass at Royal Portrush on Wednesday morning, and a lot of swirling talk besides. Everyone is looking for Rory McIlroy, looking at him, or looking back on him. A stretch of time watching him play is the one thing everyone wants to tick off during their day at the Open.
Last time the Open was here, in 2019, it threw him so far off course that he hooked his opening drive out of bounds, then hooked his provisional tee shot, lost his ball, had to take a drop, and missed his putt for triple bogey. McIlroy went out and scored 65 the next day, but ended up missing the cut by one.
McIlroy admitted that the home support got to him. 'The walk to the 1st tee and then that ovation... I think that brought its own sort of pressure and more internally from myself and not really wanting to let people down.' He has always said the hardest part of his game is what he plays in his head.
McIlroy has nothing left to prove now that he has completed the career grand slam by winning the Masters. Everything he wins from now on is candy sprinkles on top of what he has already achieved. He has said one of his new year's resolutions was to have more fun.
But Graeme McDowell said on Sky Sports: 'I think Rory is going to have too much emotion to deal with this week... the weight of a country on his back.' Brad Faxon also reported that McIlroy has hit the ball out of bounds on the 1st tee twice already this week in practice.
McIlroy, now 36, has decided there are two things he really wants to achieve this season: winning this tournament and winning the Ryder Cup in September. The championship hasn't started yet, and everything already seems more difficult than it ought to be.
