Rory McIlroy insists playing in front of home support at The 2025 Open Championship is an “experience I will never forget” after arguably Northern Ireland’s greatest-ever sportsperson received a hero’s welcome in Portrush.

RORY McIlroy has bid an emotional farewell to Royal Portrush after competing at what was a home Open championship for him. He put forth a commendable effort too as he finished in tied-seventh

So, this was weird: Rory McIlroy, playing his second shot from the rough on the 11th at Royal Portrush in Round 3 of the British Open, somehow managed to unearth another ball in mid-swing. The second ball was apparently embedded in the ground a few inches ahead of McIlroy's ball, and popped into the air as McIlroy's shot flew greenward.

Rory McIlroy found redemption at Royal Portrush six years after his nightmare 2019 missed cut, delivering the magical weekend Northern Ireland deserved.

McIlroy said Monday that he was overwhelmed by the reception he received six years ago in his home of Northern Ireland. Now a Grand Slam winner, he's ready for this week's championship.

Just as a certain Northern Irishman’s golf ball flew left, but not too far left, and safely settled in the rough, the sun peeked ou

"It's nice to be able to accept adulation, even though I struggle with it at times," Rory McIlroy said of his return to Royal Portrush for the British Open.

The British Open returns to Royal Portrush and it should be quite the homecoming for Rory McIlroy. He'd love nothing more than to win golf's oldest championship on his home soil of Northern Ireland.

The original version of this story was published on July 16, 2019, ahead of The Open Championship’s return to Royal Portrush in 2019. With The Open back at Portrush this year, the article was updated to reflect current-day statistics.

Live scores, updates and highlights as The Open continues with final-round action in Northern Ireland led by Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy