Historic Open about far more than me, says McIlroy

Pinch yourself. Major championship golf really is here.

Historic Open about far more than me, says McIlroy

Pinch yourself. Major championship golf really is here.

What once seemed an impossible dream, the staging of the Open Championship on the island of Ireland has become a reality with the first shot of the 148th Open being struck by Darren Clarke this morning at Royal Portrush.

The sheer sense of history surrounding the return of the oldest major to these shores for the first time since Max Faulkner lifted the Claret Jug at Portrush in 1951; the significance of one of the world’s biggest sporting events being staged in this once-troubled part of the world and all that comes with a global television audience of more than 600m people means that, for once, it is the magnificent links terrain of this revered golf course that will take centre stage rather than those gifted enough to play this week.

At least for the first morning.

That will suit tournament favourite Rory McIlroy right down to his Nike-clad toes as he sets out on home soil at 10.09am in his bid to win a first major in five years.

The combination of his serious golfing talent and the adoration of an Irish crowd has not always sat well with the Holywood golfer, whose 10th birthday present was a trip here with his father Gerry for a round with the old man.

Irish Opens have come and gone with that sinking feeling, save for his K Club victory in 2016, and the home expectation that will accompany the 30-year-old to the first tee today has the potential to once again weigh heavily on his shoulders.

McIlroy, though, has pledged to go with the flow, embrace the celebratory atmosphere that will surround Irish golf this week and has insisted this is a tournament bigger than himself.

“That can go one of two ways, right?” McIlroy retorted when asked if there was a danger of being sucked into the festival vibe.

“I’ve always felt I’ve played my best golf when I’ve been totally relaxed and loose. And maybe that environment is what I need. I’m not saying that that’s the way I’m going to approach it.

I’m still going to try to go out and shoot good scores and concentrate and do all the right things.

“But at the same time, I can’t just put the blinkers on and pretend that’s not all going on. One of my mantras this week is to look around and smell the roses.

This is a wonderful thing for this country and golf in general. And to be quite a big part of it is an honour and a privilege. And I want to keep reminding myself of that, that this is bigger than me, right? This is bigger than me.

“And I think if you can look at the bigger picture and you can see that, it sort of takes a little bit of the pressure off. I still want to play well and concentrate and do all the right things, but at the same time just having that perspective might just make me relax a little bit more.”

The roars that will greet McIlroy on the first tee at the course, radically changed since he set the record score of 61 as a teenager in 2005, may tell him something different but the 2014 Open champion is happy not to feel the focus of everyone’s attention this week.

“I think it’s probably easier this week because it’s such a big tournament. You’ve got the best players in the world here, and I don’t feel like I’m the centre of attention.

“I think that coming back here for the first time in 68 years, some of the other players that are here; look, I’m from Northern Ireland and I’m playing at home, but I don’t see myself as that centre of attention, I guess. I’m here to enjoy myself. Hopefully it doesn’t take another 68 years for the tournament to come back here.

“But at the same time, I mightn’t get an opportunity to play an Open Championship here again. You never know what happens. I’m really just treating it as a wonderful experience and one that I really want to enjoy. I’m going to love being out there and having the crowds and having the support. If that can’t help you, then nothing can.”

McIlroy is this week’s favourite for a reason. With two victories on the PGA Tour already this season, at The Players and Canadian Open, he is one of the form horses of the season and leads that tour’s statistic category for most strokes gained: Total, meaning his combined total across all categories: Off the tee, tee-to-green, around the green, and putting.

He has also returned a top-five finish in each of three Open starts since winning at Hoylake, having missed his title defence in 2015 with a football-related ankle injury.

Throw in his local knowledge plus the even greater experience of former North of Ireland finalist Harry Diamond on his bag and you have the perfect recipe for negotiating the nuances that this golf course possesses.

With Harry’s experience around here, he’s probably played this place more times than I have, yeah, not that I don’t let him have any say any other weeks, but I think with his experience around here, my ear will be a little sharper to what he has to say.

McIlroy is not the only one with the inside track. Perhaps his greatest rival this week is world No1 Brooks Koepka, who lacks links experience but, in Ricky Elliott, has a caddy born and bred in Portrush.

Jon Rahm will also have a say. The two-time Irish Open champion shot 64-62 on the weekend at Lahinch two weeks ago to regain the title he first won down the road from here at Portstewart. It is time the Spaniard transferred that skillset to an Open setting.

No one, though, can match McIlroy’s credentials here and there would be no better to celebrate the return of the Open Championship to Royal Portrush this weekend than for an Irish golfing son to raise the Claret Jug.

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