CNN
—
Hands clasped to his head, knees pinned to the emerald turf, chest convulsing in frenetic, ragged breaths, Rory McIlroy looked like a man subjugated by the weight of the world. Then, he propped himself upright, lifted his head skyward and unleashed a primal, fist-pumping roar that reverberated with the release of a seemingly indomitable burden.
The images of McIlroy winning The Masters, finally capturing his white whale after a 17-year pursuit fraught with heartbreak, and the unbridled celebrations that followed will likely live long in the memory of anyone who followed that near-cinematic Sunday afternoon at Augusta National in April.
Eyes welling up with tears as he discussed the prospect of celebrating with his parents back home in Northern Ireland, the raw intensity of McIlroy’s body language was a fitting reflection of the summit he had just scaled. Victory had stamped his ticket for entry into the sport’s most illustrious member’s club as just the sixth men’s golfer to complete the career grand slam of all four majors.
Yet McIlroy isn’t done soul stirring. Far from it, the green jacket’s newest recipient believes that winning the Open Championship on home turf at Royal Portrush come Sunday could well top the realization of that “lifelong dream” three months ago.
“I think it would be just as emotional, if not more emotional, to do that than what I did in Augusta … and everyone saw the mess I was after that,” the 36-year-old told BBC Sport on Monday.
‘A win has the chance to resonate louder and longer’
Born and raised some 60 miles (96 kilometers) away in Holywood, a small town of little over 10,000 people just a 15-minute drive from the hubbub of the capital Belfast, McIlroy was always guaranteed to receive a hero’s welcome at the 153rd edition of the major this week.
Yet the magnitude of his spring success has only ratcheted up the fervor on Antrim’s north coast, with as many as 290,000 spectators expected to brave rain and biting coastal winds to watch the game’s best take on the testing Dunluce Links course.
Even as the world No. 2 – barely 12 hours after finishing joint runner-up at the Scottish Open in North Berwick on Sunday – shrugged off four hours of sleep to be one of the first golfers out for Monday’s practice round, fans followed in droves.
Many were repaid for their dedication when the five-time major champion closed his session by penning autographs, with Masters merchandise among the items thrust over the barriers to be signed.
“I’m so grateful and appreciative of the support that I get from home, and they really make me feel that out there,” added McIlroy.
“That’s an amazing feeling to play in front of that and to experience that, and I want to embrace that this week.”
The depth of national pride for a 29-time PGA Tour winner who, long before his crowning at Augusta, had assembled a strong case to claim the title of Northern Ireland’s greatest ever sportsperson goes some way to explaining why a victory at Royal Portrush could be more emotional than his Masters title.
Because while he might have already lifted a Claret Jug at Royal Liverpool in 2014 and completed the set 11 years later, a home major has the potential to top it all, believes Golf Digest senior writer Joel Beall.
“For what it means to him as a player, the Masters was always going to be more important,” Beall told CNN Sports.
“He had so many disappointments there, and it was standing in the way of the grand slam. But on a personal level, to do this in his childhood backyard, a win has the chance to resonate louder and longer than Augusta.”
The emotional stakes are also raised by the fact that McIlroy, as he did at Augusta, has psychological scar tissue from Royal Portrush.
It had started so well. Aged just 16, McIlroy had consolidated his reputation as a burgeoning golf phenom when he tore round Dunluce Links in a course record 11-under 61 at the 2005 North of Ireland Championship.
Though Ireland’s Shane Lowry holds the current all-time low-score after shooting 63 en route to Open triumph in 2019 following extensive renovations to the course earlier that year, McIlroy’s teenage achievement endures as a seminal chapter of his fabled career.
Yet as long-time friend Lowry powered to glory, McIlroy didn’t even make the weekend on the major’s long-awaited return to the venue. After decades of sectarian violence known as “the Troubles” had seen The Open kept away from Northern Ireland, McIlroy had been the center of attention as Royal Portrush played host for the first time since 1951, only to see his tournament instantly derailed by an opening quadruple-bogey eight.
After a closing triple-bogey saw the home star sign off with an eight-over 79, even a superb six-under 65 was not enough to make the cut, with McIlroy left fighting tears having missed out on the weekend by a single stroke.
Caught off guard by the ovation he received on the first tee six years ago, the five-time major champion believes he is now better prepared to not just deal with, but embrace, the adoration from behind the ropes.
“I was still a little surprised and a little taken aback like, ‘Geez, these people really want me to win,’” McIlroy recalled to reporters on Monday.
“I think that brought its own sort of pressure and more internally from myself and not really wanting to let people down. I learned pretty quickly that one of my challenges, especially in a week like this, is controlling myself and controlling that battle.
“I probably tried to isolate, and I think it’s better for everyone if I embrace it,” McIlroy added later. “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.”
Just how much inspiration McIlroy can extract from those interactions could hold the key to his hopes this week, Beall says.
“Rory now realizes what he does is a communal experience,” he told CNN Sports. “Harnessing that energy, letting it be an asset instead of a weight, will go a ways in determining how he does.”
McIlroy’s second place finish in Scotland on Sunday, two shots behind American Chris Gotterup, hinted at a timely return to his best play after what had been – by his golden standards – a slump in form.
The slam capture had sparked some predictions that a “shackles-off” McIlroy, who had already won the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Players Championship in a surging start to the year, could pave the way for a multiple-major season.
Yet a tied-47th finish at the PGA Championship was followed by a tied-19th outing at the US Open, and sandwiched by a missed cut at the Canadian Open. Resetting goals after the euphoria of The Masters had been a struggle, McIlroy admitted Monday.
“Talk about the pressure being off, yes, but anyone that sits up here at this table, we’re all competitors. We all want to do better. We all think we can just get a little bit extra out of what we have,” he said.
“I probably just didn’t give myself enough time to let it all sink in. But that’s the nature of professional golf. They do a very good job of keeping you on the hamster wheel, and you feel like it’s hard to get off at times, but it’s been an amazing year.”
With the small matter of a Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York still to come in late September, there is ample opportunity for McIlroy to pen yet more history in 2025.
“I still feel like there’s a lot left in there,” he said. “The story certainly isn’t over.”
