'You don’t want to let them down' – Rory McIlroy on pressure of being home hope
By Carl Markham, PA
Rory McIlroy admitted to feeling the pressure of a whole country’s expectations as he returned to his native Northern Ireland for The Open at Portrush.
After going home early six years ago when the championship returned to the Causeway Coast, an hour’s drive from where he grew up in Holywood, the Masters champion knew he could not afford to get it wrong this time around.
There was even greater support off the back of his completion of the career Grand Slam at Augusta and galleries 10 deep followed him throughout a round which threatened to be a memorable one for those privileged enough to witness it, but ended up being just satisfactory.
At three under par through 10 and one shot off the lead, he had three bogeys in four holes and needed a birdie at the 17th to get back to one under and only three behind.
“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 so there’s that little bit of added pressure,” McIlroy said.
“I felt like I dealt with it really well today. I certainly dealt with it better than I did six years ago.
“I was just happy to get off to a good start and get myself into the tournament.
“I’m surprised four under is leading. I thought someone might have gone out there and shot six or seven (under) today.
“Only three back with 54 holes to go, I’m really happy with where I am.”
McIlroy’s round of 70 had promised so much more, despite his driving, one of his strengths, being unusually wayward.
He was ranked 154th out of 156 players in the field, having hit just two fairways all day.
“I had it going three under through 10 and let a few slip there around the middle of the round,” he said.
“I steadied the ship well, played the last four at one under and it was nice to shoot under par.
“I felt like, once we turned for home, played 10 and turned back and played 11, the wind picked up a little bit and it just became that little bit more difficult.
“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.”