Rory McIlroy puts 2019 Open at Portrush in past, cards 70 - ESPN

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Six years is a long time to wait, but as Rory McIlroy stepped onto the first tee box at Royal Portrush on Thursday and the loud, but nervous cheers from the heavy Northern Ireland crowd washed over him, the time that had passed since the Open took place here in 2019 appeared to be just enough.

«Look, I feel the support of an entire country out there, which is a wonderful position to be in, but at the same time, you don't want to let them down,» McIlroy said after an opening-round, 1-under 70. «So there's that little bit of added pressure. I felt like I dealt with it really well today. Certainly dealt with it better than I did six years ago.»

The opening tee shot at Portrush is a gauntlet, with out of bounds on either side of its 70-yard-wide fairway. In 2019, McIlroy said he was affected by the emotion surrounding his return to his home country and proceeded to make a mess of the hole. He carded a quadruple-bogey 8 en route to an opening-round 79 and went on to miss the cut.

An older, more prepared and more successful McIlroy emerged Thursday on No. 1, taking his time to read the wind, double check his yardage book, swing his driving iron and most importantly, get the ball in play.

«I didn't feel like I was walking into the unknown this time around, where last time I hadn't experienced that before. I hadn't played an Open at home. I didn't know how I was going to feel,» McIlroy said after his round. «I didn't know the reaction I was going to get, where this time I had a better idea of what was going to be coming my way.»

Though he missed the fairway, McIlroy was able to limit the damage to a bogey this time around. Missing fairways would be part of the story of his first round — the reigning