PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — The wonders of modern private jet travel undoubtedly helped, but Rory McIlroy still didn’t have a lot of time after holing his final putt at the Scottish Open early Sunday evening and arriving on the first tee Monday morning at Royal Portrush.
Getting started early to beat the crowds—and the rain—McIlroy teed off at 7 a.m. local time and played the site of this week’s British Open by himself. Although he had just four hours of sleep, he found it an ideal way to prepare for the 153rd playing of the Open, which begins Thursday.
The reigning Masters champion seems to have gotten his game back in order after a difficult period that saw him struggle, by his standards. He comes to the Open following two solid tournaments, including a tie for second in Scotland.
“I didn’t come up here ahead of time to try to get a couple of practice rounds in, so I just wanted to get out early, sort of beat the rush, beat the crowd, and do my work with not a lot of people around,” McIlroy said during an afternoon news conference. “So that was the reason that I did that today.
“It worked out well. Obviously we had that weather delay there, and it was nice to get 18 holes in early and feel like I got a productive day of work in.”
McIlroy, who grew up approximately an hour away in Holywood, had not been back to play Royal Portrush since he missed the cut in 2019, when Shane Lowry won the tournament.
McIlroy started ominously that week, hitting his first shot out of bounds—the first hole has internal O.B.—and never recovered, eventually missing the 36-hole cut by a shot.
Afterward, he spoke of how he didn’t handle the moment very well, playing the Open in his home country, one that is so small but yet clamoring for a big-time event such as this.
McIlroy had only played a few professional events in Northern Ireland.
“But then you get to an Open, it’s a major championship, everything that comes along with it, and I just think that that feeling, the walk to the first tee and then that ovation, I was still a little surprised and a little taken aback, like geez, these people really want me to win,” he said.
“I think that brought its own sort of pressure and more internally from myself and not really wanting to let people down. 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.
“I think 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.”
So the approach this time is different.
“I think in ’19 I probably tried to isolate, and I think it’s better for everyone if I embrace it,” McIlroy said. “It’s nice to be able to accept adulation, even though I struggle with it at times. But it’s also nice for the person that is seeing you for the first time in a few years. It just makes for a better interaction and not trying to hide away from it.
“I think it’s more of an embrace everything that's going to come my way this week and not try to shy away from it or hide away from it, and I think that’ll make for a better experience for everyone involved.”
So, too, will playing better.
McIlroy tied for seventh at the Truist Championship in his first individual start following the Masters victory. But then struggles set in. He tied for 47th at the PGA Championship, missed the cut by 12 shots at the RBC Canadian Open and had a poor U.S. Open, where a final-day 67 helped him tie for 19th. He then tied for sixth at the Travelers Championship.
But after a two-week break and getting back to Europe, he has regrouped and found some form. He was in contention on Sunday at the Renaissance Club but couldn’t overtake eventual champion Chris Gotterup, who won the tournament by two strokes.
“I’m certainly encouraged by how I’ve played the last two starts, especially last week in Scotland,” he said. “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 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.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rory McIlroy, Trying to ‘Embrace Everything’ in Home British Open, Starts Prep Early.