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McIlroy banishes his demons with fighting 70 on Portrush return

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland :It was ugly at times and he barely located a fairway but Rory McIlroy's homecoming party at Royal Portrush this time did not go as flat as a pint of stale Guinness as he scrambled to an opening-round 70 at the British Open on Thursday.

Six years after putting his opening tee shot out of bounds and racking up a quadruple bogey on his way to dream-wrecking round of 79, five-times major champion McIlroy returned to the Dunluce Links intent on banishing the demons of 2019.

There were magical moments for the massed galleries who braved the Atlantic showers to roar on the local hero, but mostly it was a grind for the 36-year-old who arrived this week sporting the Green Jacket from this year's Masters win.

That the Northern Irishman walked off the 18th green on one under par, only three shots off the lead and very much in the mix for his second Open title, 11 years after his first, was a victory in itself.

"It was a tough enough day, especially either chopping out of the rough or out of the fairway bunkers most of the time. So to shoot under par was a good effort," McIlroy said.

He hit only two fairways and was 154th out of the 156 starters for driving accuracy but conjured five birdies and avoided any of the calamities lurking on an unforgiving course.

"I felt like I dealt with it really well today," said McIlroy, who completed his career Grand Slam by winning the Masters this year to snap an 11-year major drought.

"Certainly, I dealt with it better than I did six years ago. Only three back with 54 holes to go, I'm happy with where I am.

"I knew what to expect. So I think just having that experience of six years ago was definitely helpful."

Teeing off in light afternoon breezes alongside England's Tommy

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