In 2019, the world looked to Rory McIlroy when The Open Championship returned to Northern Ireland’s Royal Portrush for the first time since 1951. How did McIlroy, who holds the course record (61) at Portrush, react to the pressure. By hitting his opening tee shot out of bounds and shooting 79. He’d shoot 65 the second day but missed the cut and had to watch as countryman Shane Lowry walked away with the Claret Jug.
The venue: Royal Portrush
One of the most fabled courses in Ireland, Harry Colt’s Dunluce course is one of the most spectacular links on the planet, with holes that rollick and plunge through amazing linksland, arriving at cliffs where the ruins of an ancient castle oversee all 18 holes. In advance of the 2019 Open Championship, architect Martin Ebert eliminated two holes—the 17th and 18th— and replaced them with a new 7th (a par 5) and 8th hole (par 4). Ebert has continued to tinker with the course since then, with a new championship tee on the opening holes, among other alterations.
Can Rory pull it off?
Like the Canadians when they show up for the RBC Canadian Open, all eyes are on the Irish players at the Open Championship at Portrush, one of the country’s best courses. McIlroy has already achieved the career Grand Slam by winning the Masters and has a Players Championship as one of three wins on the year. So, this has to be the time when he breaks through at Portrush with the entirety of Ireland cheering him on—right? The truth is McIlroy has an up-and-down record at the Open Championship, having won in Liverpool, but with other tournaments punctuated by missed cuts and poor finishes. Which Rory will show up this week at a course where he famously holds the course record of 61?
Canadians
Four Canadians—Nick Taylor, Taylor Pendrith, Corey Conners, and Mackenzie Hughes—are in the field this week. Conners has appeared five times at the Open Championship, having made the cut four times, and seems poised for a breakthrough in a major championship in a year where he’s already made more than $5-million. Conners’ last tournament was the U.S. Open where he withdrew with an injury, but he was in last week’s Scottish Open as a tune-up for the main event. On the other hand, Pendrith will be making his debut at the Open Championship. He finished in a tie for 5th at the PGA Championship, and has all the shots to contend in the wind and inclement weather that often manifests at the Open Championship.
Rory will win