While Rory McIlroy’s Masters triumph earned him a long-awaited career grand slam, a home Open Championship win at Royal Portrush could be even more emotion for the North Irishman.

Rory McIlroy completed the career grand slam at the Masters in April, but apparently that was not his biggest goal of the season.

Rory McIlroy rarely got to play in Northern Ireland as a pro before the 2019 Open Championship was staged at Royal Portrush Golf Club. He remembers the internal pressure when he arrived for his tee time that Thursday -- the pressure of wanting to be the hero for his country.

McIlroy didn't play his best Thursday at Royal Portrush but shot 1-under 70 and is three shots off the 18-hole lead.

Six years after recording a quadruple-bogey 8 on No. 1 at Royal Portrush, Rory McIlroy carded a bogey-5 en route to a 1-under 70 that left him right in the mix at the Open. "I didn't feel like I was walking into the unknown this time around,

Rory McIlroy shot 1-under 70 in the first round of the British Open at Royal Portrush that is also serving as a homecoming for the Northern Irish star

It was a return six years in the making, and it was a return that perfectly encapsulated Rory McIlroy. Making the trek back to Royal Portrush for The Open Championship -- now as a career grand slam winner -- the Northern Irishman experienced a topsy-turvy day as the hard stuff came easy and the easy stuff came hard.

The Open at Portrush was a lot for Rory McIlroy to handle in 2019. After the first round in 2025, in which he went 1 under, he tells Cara Banks he's handling it much better this time and looks forward to Friday.

McIlroy, playing with Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood, is one of the early starters in Friday’s second round and sits just three shots behind the leaders overnight, with world No 1 Scottie Scheffler,