Rory McIlroy believes Open winner will 'need to show quite a lot of artistry' to conquer Royal Portrush
Rory McIlroy believes the eventual Open Championship winner will “need to show quite a lot of artistry” to conquer Royal Portrush – a course which he feels has gone through significant changes since he broke the record aged 16.
Hailed as one of the world’s best, the iconic Dunluce links is hosting just its third Open – and first since 2019 – with play getting underway early on Thursday morning when home favourite Tom McKibbin tees off at 6:35am.
McIlroy is scheduled for an afternoon start (3:10pm) and will undoubtedly be the star attraction with the local hero playing on home soil for the first time as a Grand Slam champion.
Royal Portrush is a venue McIlroy knows well having played it many times throughout his career, but with the world number two’s busy schedule combined alongside living in America, he doesn’t have much recent experience to call upon.
He last played the course at the 2019 Open, when he missed the cut following an opening round eight-over par, and McIlroy admits the new set-up has taken some getting used to with old memories still at the forefront of his mind.
"This golf course has changed,” said McIlroy. “It's weird the way the original 17th and 18th have been taken out and the new seventh and eighth have been put in.
"Harry (Diamond, caddie) and I were talking about the course last week, and he's like, on the 12th hole – I'm like, that's the 10th hole. He's like, no, that's the 12th. Even now I still remember this course the way it was and not the way it is for The Open.
“I played the Irish Open in 2012 but it was still the original golf course, so I've really only played two competitive rounds on this new golf course. It's a little bit different.
“I think when I shot that 61 when I was 16, I had a little bit of a clue of what I was doing, but I certainly didn't have as much of an understanding of the game or of my game as I do now.
“I think in that 20 years, technology has evolved. I don't even think TrackMans were a thing at that point.
"There's a lot of different things that have happened to the game of golf that probably push you in the direction of a scientist more than an artist.
"But as we all know, The Open Championship and links golf, you need to show quite a lot of artistry to do well here.”