Rónán MacNamara in Portrush
Rory McIlroy feels he is building back towards his best game which saw him win three times including the Masters, as he shifts his focus towards September’s Ryder Cup in Bethpage Black after a good showing at the Open Championship.
McIlroy finished in a share of seventh place on ten-under, seven shots behind Scottie Scheffler, but despite coming up well short of winning a second Claret Jug, the grand slam winner feels he did himself justice on his homecoming return to Royal Portrush – and hopes it won’t be his last.
“I tried as best as I could to keep my emotions in check, especially walking up the last there and that reception,” said McIlroy who received a standing ovation on the 72nd green. “Yeah, look, it’s been an awesome week. I’ve gotten everything I wanted out of this week apart from a Claret Jug, and that’s just because one person was just a little bit better than the rest of us.
“It’s been an amazing week. I feel so thankful and just so lucky that I get to do this, I get to do this in front of this crowd. Hopefully I’ll have one or two Opens left here, if the R&A decide to keep coming back, probably one while I’m still competitive and another one while I’m more gray than I already am.
“It’s just been incredible to come back here and to play and at least feel like I had a chance today going out there. Just an awesome week.”
McIlroy teed off six shots behind world number one Scheffler on eight-under-par. He picked up a birdie on the par-5 2nd but handed it back on the 4th thus putting paid to any hopes of a quick start.
Unlike the day before, McIlroy carded birdies on the 5th and 7th holes but his already fleeting chances of catching Scheffler were over when he failed to birdie the 8th and 9th from the fairway and double bogeyed the 10th after flying the green with his approach and taking two attempts to get back to the green.
From there, it was a case of trying to put on a spurt to finish in style and he birdied the 12th and 15th to reach double figures under par to tie Xander Schauffele and Robert McIntyre.
Even though he didn’t produce the fireworks of Saturday, McIlroy conceded that his best performance would not have caught Scheffler.
“I was never going to get to 17-under, I don’t think,” he admitted.
“I could have maybe finished 2nd, which would have been better than where I did finish, but only making par off those tee shots on 8 and 9 and then the double off of 10 after the flier, that did me in. Then I just tried to play a good back nine and finish as well as I could.
“None of us could hang with Scottie this week. He’s an incredible player. He’s been dominant this week. Honestly, he’s been dominant for the last couple years. He is the bar that we’re all trying to get to.
“In a historical context, you could argue that there’s only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run, the one that Scottie’s been on here for the last 24 to 36 months. Incredibly impressive.
“Yeah, he’s a very worthy winner. Also, he’s a great person, and I think he’s a wonderful ambassador for our game as well. I’m really happy for him and Meredith and his family.”
McIlroy would love to see the Open Championship return to Royal Portrush on a regular basis after two very successful editions in six years, while there remains the possibility of a Claret Jug jaunt in Portmarnock.
“I think Portrush has quickly turned into one of the best two or three venues that The Open goes to. Talk to every player this week, and they won’t say one single bad thing about the golf course.
“Then I just think the way it sets up, from a logistical standpoint, I think the R&A have worked so well with the local government to make sure everything runs smoothly. Yeah, I hope so. It’s only been six years since 2019. I’m not sure Portrush is going to have The Open every six years, that would be nice, but I would obviously love it to keep coming back.”
McIlroy suffered a dip in form after winning the Masters as he struggled to cope with the come down from such a euphoric high. But it’s clear that he has woken from his slumber and is trending in the right direction for Bethpage Black.
“I also had the three wins when Scottie wasn’t quite on his game. But I do, I feel good. I feel like being back in Europe for a bit was a nice reset. Yeah, I feel like I’m getting back to where I want to be, and we’ve still got a lot of golf left this year with obviously Ryder Cup being the big one in there in September.
“I don’t want to play too much leading up to that because I want to be fresh. So I’m looking forward to a few weeks off here. I’ll reflect on what’s been already a good year and start to get myself ready for that run up to the Ryder Cup.”
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