The child stood transfixed, overwhelmed by the moment, until reality crashed back when McIlroy had already moved 50 yards past. Panic flashed across the boy's face—had he missed his chance? He found his voice.

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.

Six years after his emotional missed cut at Royal Portrush, McIlroy stuck around for four days of heavy praise from the hometown crowd, which showered McIlroy all the way through his 10-under performance and T-7 finish.

"It's one of the largest roars I've ever heard on a golf course," McIlroy said, in one of the five questions allotted to the written press. As for the larger round, there are two prevailing views on what he accomplished at the 2025 British Open.

Rory McIlroy climbed the leaderboard Saturday at the 2025 Open Championship thanks in large part to an electric eagle putt on the par-five 12th.

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.

In post-round interviews, especially during bigger tournaments, you'll often hear tour pros say they plan to go back to their hotels or rental homes and get their minds off golf. For some that may mean playing with the kids,

Rory McIlroy stared at his card behind the 18th green and smiled the smile of a golfer who knew he’d had a day to remember at the British Open.

So, this was weird: Rory McIlroy, playing his second shot from the rough on the 11th at Royal Portrush in Round 3 of the British Open, somehow managed to unearth another ball in mid-swing. The second ball was apparently embedded in the ground a few inches ahead of McIlroy's ball, and popped into the air as McIlroy's shot flew greenward.

If you played enough golf like Rory McIlroy, you'd think you've seen everything that can happen on a golf course. If you've watched as much golf as his fans have through the years, you'd think the same.