McIlroy felt 'support of entire country' on Portrush return

After the endless build-up and wondering, he hit it left again. Just not too left.

When Rory McIlroy strolled on to the first tee at Royal Portrush on Thursday, he waved politely to the fans gathered in the grandstand, greeted playing partners Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood and confronted a six-year-old demon.

A first round back on home turf since completing the career Grand Slam would have been a big deal on its own. That it happened to be at the scene at one of his most heartbreaking experiences made it unmissable sporting theatre.

This island - and beyond - clearly thought so. By 15:10 BST on Thursday, the opening hole turned into McIlroy Mania with added waterproofs.

Thousands held their breath as McIlroy pulled a long iron and sent his opening shot of the 153rd Open Championship into the calming County Antrim sky.

Untroubled by it, McIlroy reached for his tee and smiled at caddie Harry Diamond. Hard part over.

McIlroy previously admitted he was overawed by the sense of occasion when the Open returned to Northern Ireland for the first time in 68 years in 2019.

This time, he knew what to expect.

"It wasn't new to me," said the world number two.

"I think having that experience six years ago was definitely helpful.

"I didn't feel like I was walking into the unknown this time, whereas last time I hadn't experienced that before. I hadn't played an Open at home, I didn't know what kind of reaction I was going to get but this time I knew what to expect."

His ball trundled into the rough but, mercifully, remained in bounds, unlike in 2019 when he carded a ruinous quadruple-bogey eight on his way to an opening 79 and a missed cut the next day.

He started with a bogey this time, but instead of shooting himself out of the tournament, McIlroy ended his six-hour round one under, alongside 2019 champion Shane Lowry and just three off the lead.

There is much to do, but inside the top 20 means he can, for now, retain his dream of capturing the Claret Jug on home soil just three months on from finally conquering the Masters.

Earlier this week, McIlroy revealed his plan to change tack. With his decision to detach himself from the hullabaloo having backfired in 2019, the 36-year-old on Monday said he was prepared to enjoy the rollercoaster of another home Open.

And for the most part, he seemed to enjoy himself.

Having recovered from an untidy opening hole, McIlroy birdied three of his next six and turned in 34 in reasonably benign conditions.

The enormous galleries that tracked his every move were treated to flashes of vintage McIlroy, with the first roar arriving when he drained a 15-foot birdie putt on the second.

On the next par five - the seventh - he nearly sent the place into delirium when his third from 122 yards scared the pin, leading to another birdie.

He missed a golden opportunity on eight, but when he started the back nine with another birdie to move three under, he was suddenly just one adrift.

That's when his errant driving caught up with him. McIlroy hit just two fairways all day and visits to the rough and fairway bunkers on 11 and 12 led to successive bogeys.

Even in the more testing stretches of his round, McIlroy cut a relaxed yet focused figure, chatting regularly to Thomas and Fleetwood while remaining admirably unperturbed by the noises and movement that are inevitable with a crowd so big.

When he bogeyed 14 to slip back to level, however, a sense of unease kicked in. In 2019, McIlroy closed out his first round in catastrophic fashion, with a double bogey on the 16th and a triple on the 18th.

Here, however, he covered his last four holes in one under, a gutsy birdie on the 17th giving him renewed momentum before Friday's 10:09 BST start for his second round.

In many ways it was quintessential McIlroy. He dropped his head when he missed a putt, and added a bounce to his stride when he made one.

It is a testament to his status, too, that there were no seats to be had in the 18th grandstand as he finished his round in the fading light, nearly 15 hours on from Padraig Harrington's opening tee shot.

The intensity of the support was not lost on the five-time major winner.

"[It was] absolutely incredible," he smiled.

"I feel the support of an entire country out there, which is a wonderful position to be in. At the same time, you don't want to let them down, so there is that added bit of pressure.

"But I think I dealt with it well today, certainly dealt with it better than I did six years ago."