'I always think about that round' - Rory McIlroy reflects on record-breaking Royal Portrush feat ahead of 2025 Open Championship return
Rory McIlroy announced himself to the golfing world on July 12, 2005 as a fresh-faced teenager after shooting a new course record at Royal Portrush – and now returning to the iconic Dunluce links almost exactly 20 years later chasing Open Championship glory, he can still remember every shot from that record-breaking round like it was yesterday.
McIlroy was already well-known to those in local golfing circles with the generational talent from Holywood, who had famously appeared on The Gerry Kelly Show chipping balls into a washing machine at the age of nine, coming quickly through the ranks, but his historical achievement made a global audience take notice.
It was during qualifying for the North of Ireland Amateur Championship when McIlroy produced a stunning 61 which included nine birdies and an eagle on the par-five 10th hole to write his name into the history books.
On a course which has previously got the better of even seasoned professionals, 16-year-old McIlroy held his nerve under pressure to claim the record, finishing in style by registering five consecutive birdies.
It was all a sign of things to come – McIlroy has since amassed 44 professional titles, sat atop the world rankings for 122 weeks, earned over $105million in prize money on the PGA Tour and returns to Northern Ireland as only the sixth player in history to achieve a career Grand Slam following his Masters heroics in April.
Even with all those achievements, that famous July afternoon two decades ago still sticks with McIlroy and remarkably he can take you through every shot of the 61 struck.
"Whenever I think back about Royal Portrush, links golf and my development, I always think about that round,” he told The Open’s social media channel. “I came here and it’s a course I’d played so many times.
"I came out onto the Dunluce here and it was the best round of golf I’d ever played at that point, one of the best rounds I’ve ever played.
"The confidence I had – and the cockiness as well I guess – at 16, I think I need to rediscover a little bit.
"There’s not many rounds where I remember every shot but that day I do. I remember missing a putt at the first for birdie, I hit a driver, six iron onto the middle of the green at the second and two putted for birdie, I made a great birdie at the par-three sixth.
"I remember hitting a wedge into the ninth that was playing as a par-five at the time, I got to nine-under par after 16 and I thought if I can par in and shoot the course record at Portrush, that would be something very special and something I would remember for a long time.
"I got to 10-under and I thought ‘Just don’t screw this up at the last! You can even make bogey and still have the course record’. I hit a perfect drive and a good eight iron into the heart of the green.
"All I was trying to do was two putt from 20 feet and I rolled it in.”
While the handful of spectators present watched on in awe as McIlroy stormed his way around Royal Portrush, he was almost confused about the fuss – such was his undoubted talent, something like this felt normal.
However, the reality is it was far from normal, and there’s been nothing normal about his career since as the 36-year-old continues to fly the flag for Northern Ireland on the world stage, cementing his legacy as one of his country’s greatest-ever athletes.
McIlroy has faced his fair share of disappointment over the past decade, waiting 11 years to win a fifth major title after a number of near misses, and as he became more experienced, the magnitude of his achievement began to sink in.
"I saw my dad, my uncles were following me around and I had one of my best friends on the bag,” he added. “It felt normal to me...as time goes on you realise those scores are very special and when they do happen you should savour and enjoy them.
"Hopefully the same thing happens at Portrush! I hold the Old Course record but hopefully I can come here during The Open and break the new course record as well.
"It has been a special place to us for a very long time and to be able to come here and use it and play when I want is a great honour.”
McIlroy’s 61 left people in such disbelief that some wondered if he had indeed played the entire course.
“I actually thought he didn't play the last two holes,” said Maureen Madill, a club member and former tour professional, told Golfweek. “I asked, ‘Did he play the whole way around? 17 and 18?’ I thought, ‘That's extraordinary’.”
It’s possible that McIlroy’s success can be tracked back to that very round in 2005, and although he’s played thousands since, that one still has a special place in his heart.
“It’s up there,” he told Golfweek when asked if it was his best ever. “Definitely up there.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever felt in the zone. Ever since, when I get seven, eight, nine-under in a round, I’ve never been afraid to push it further.”