Organisers of The Open golf championship at Portrush delivered a highly successful event in a land scorched by recent sporting failure. The collapse of plans to host matches in football's Euro 2028 tournament in Belfast damaged Northern Ireland's reputation in the world of sport.

Rory McIlroy’s jokes about “more grey than I already am” for the Open’s return to Royal Portrush before his retirement could also apply to the impact of trying to close down Sunday champion Scottie Scheffler.

McIlroy could not reproduce his Saturday magic to catch Scottie Scheffler, but he still achieved a level of redemption at his home Open

If McIlroy didn’t quite deliver, then Royal Portrush — where he shot 61 as a 16-year-old for the course record — certainly did, gaining widespread rave reviews.

Rory McIlroy insists playing in front of home support at The 2025 Open Championship is an “experience I will never forget” after arguably Northern Ireland’s greatest-ever sportsperson received a hero’s welcome in Portrush.

Reality says Rory McIlroy isn’t going to hoist the Claret Jug on the 18th hole on Sunday evening here to deafening roars from the home fans.

HOLYWOOD, Northern Ireland — Two decades before Rory McIlroy’s career-defining triumph, when he finally conquered his Masters demons with an emotional rollercoaster of a win at Augusta National, he did, in fact, already own a green jacket.

McIlroy capped the Grand Slam in April, and called this “an awesome week' after tying for seventh place at Portrush.