Rory McIlroy Would ‘Love’ Home Open Triumph At Portrush; Hails Harrington For Irish Major Momentum

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Rory McIlroy has paid tribute to Padraig Harrington’s trailblazing impact on Irish golf, hailing him as the one who opened the door to major success for players like himself, Shane Lowry, and Graeme McDowell. Speaking ahead of the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush, McIlroy also reflected on how much Northern Ireland has progressed since his childhood during the Troubles — and why a home victory would mean more than any trophy.

The four-time major winner is desperate to win at Portrush and believes Harrington’s legacy continues to inspire Ireland’s next generation of stars.

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Hey, I’m delighted to welcome back Rory Maroy to the Genesis Scottish Open. Rory, obviously a lot of history has been created and you’ve got great history here in Scotland at this event, having won in the past, and this is the first time you’re back on this side of the pond since completing the career Grand Slam. So, how nice is it to be back around familiar faces in in Europe? Yeah, it’s it it is lovely. Um, you know, got over um to this side of the the Atlantic a couple of weeks ago um trying to get settled into our new place um down in Wentworth and um yeah, it’s been it’s been really nice. It’s uh it’s lovely to to get back up here and and start to play a little bit of Lynx golf. Um and you know it’s you know it’s a great week to um shake any competitive rust off and um obviously with with one eye looking ahead to next week at the open but um yeah great to be back. You know it’s it’s a I guess this is a tournament and a golf course that uh has grown on me over the years. Um, you know, I I don’t think I started started out too well here, but learned to um learned how to play the course a little bit better. Obviously had that great finish in 2023. Um, you know, played well again last year. So, um, yeah, looking forward to to getting out there tomorrow and and getting going. Okay, we’ll open the floor to questions. Going to go to Sean Zach first. Rory, I enjoyed your could play in any era comment yesterday hitting that pim and I was curious if you ever given much thought to that like how your game would have suited in the 70s and ‘ 80s. Um, yeah. I mean, I I’d like to I guess I’d like to think of myself more as an artist than a scientist when it comes to the game. man. Um but I think at this in this generation and at this point with Trackman and biomechanics and um you know every all the technological advances you know I think you know again I think my perception of myself as an artist but I just think the way the way the game has went over the last 20 years we’re probably more scientists than we are artists. But um I you know I’d like to think that I had the game or had the adaptability to to do well in that era with with that equipment. Craig, hi Rory. Um you’ve spoken about getting back across to to this side of the Atlantic and obviously there’s been so much going on in your life and everything that’s happened, but just to can you have a kind of freedom when you come back here almost kidlike to get back to being the young guy and um playing golf in the summer and the sunshine and the links. Can you be that young kid again and get free of all the other stresses? Yeah, I feel like you can. You know, the one thing I would say uh about the last couple of weeks is I could um I I felt like I could detach a little bit more um and sort of hide in a way. And sometimes you need that to to completely get away from um you know I feel like the this world of golf can become all-encompassing if if you let it. Um, but I think if you remove yourself a little bit from that environment, it’s um, you know, Justin Rose and I came up together here yesterday and, you know, we were just chatting about, you know, the I don’t know, there’s just there’s a deta a detachment from the sort of week in week out grind when you get back over here for, you know, when you play PJ Tour golf for that um, you know, sort of first 25 30 weeks of the year. um you know, we were just we were sort of talking about that yesterday on the way up here. But um yeah, look, it’s been lovely to to get back and see some familiar faces and um you know, and as Bry said, it’s the first time back um playing in the UK since um what happened at Augusta, which is a you know, that’s a a really nice feeling as well. M Rory, when you think back to when you were a kid, how enjoyable was it this morning when that a young lad had waited there since 7:00 to walk up that sixth hole with you? How how satisfying is that still for you after all you’ve achieved in the game? Yeah, I think, you know, I it to me it doesn’t seem that long ago that I was, you know, standing in line to get autographs um at the World Match play at Wentworth or the World Golf Championship at Mount Juliet or whatever it is. So, um and I remember how happy I was when a pro threw me a golf ball or, you know, if they signed my hat or whatever it was. So, um, yeah, it’s it’s lovely to be able to do that for for people, and it obviously doesn’t, um, it’s not like I’m doing anything different. I’m just sort of going about my day, but, um, you know, it’s nice to be able to have that effect. Okay. And we’ll just go to Brian now. Hi, Rory. Good to see you again. Um, you told us 12 months ago you hadn’t had a holiday for a while. Um, now that you’ve you’ve got the grand slam in the pocket, will you take a little bit more time to enjoy life because it is a grind? You talk about the grind on the tour. Yeah, I I think I’ve done a good job of that since um I missed the cut of Trun and went straight to Portugal. So, that was my first holiday. Um, but then yeah, I think over the past um, I’d say the past 12 months, I think one of my New Year’s resolutions was to have more fun, you know, and that’s I really tried to do that. So whether it’s, you know, me and a bunch of friends went to um, Dortmund in January and watched a Bruce Dortmund Baron Labor Cruising game. Um, we then stopped off in Istanbul for a night out on our way over to Dubai. So, um, you know, Poppy’s learned starting to learn how to ski, so we went to Montana in February and, you know, took a skiing holiday. And, um, yeah, I think there there’s opportunities throughout the year that, um, you can do these sorts of things. And I think now at the stage of life that I’m at, I’m I’m actually trying to build my schedule around those weeks instead of the other way around, trying to sort of fit them in here or can I take four days off? It’s more No, these are going to not take the priority, but they’re going to become more important in in scheduling the year. Um, yeah, and then, you know, fit the fit the golf tournaments around those. We’re going to go into the back middle. Uh, hey Rory. Um, I was out with Matt Wallace yesterday in the prom. Um, and he mentioned that, uh, amateurs don’t quite understand how good you guys are. in particular, you mentioned you and Scotty. Um, and when you go to place like Oakmont, how easy you guys can make the golf course look. Um, just how difficult is it to stay on top of your game for a long period of time? Um, and how much does it take out of you and how do you keep on top of it basically? Yeah, I mean I think it’s one of the um I think it’s one of the underappreciated things about um any sport and anyone like you look at what NovakJovich is is doing at Wimbledon over the last couple of weeks or you know what some of those guys have done or what someone like a you know Cristiano Ronaldo is still doing at 40 years old or a Tom Brady in American football. longevity piece I think is something that um maybe isn’t talked about enough because once you get to a certain level um I feel like the you know the the the journey on the way up is almost it’s not I’m not going to say it’s easy but you have that momentum and you’re riding that wave to the top and then you once you get there yeah you it it takes just as much work if not more work to to stay there Because, you know, I think about my career, you know, before I won this major this year, the last major I won in 2014, I’d never heard of Scottish Sheffller, you know. So, these talents and these players just keep coming and keep getting better each and every generation. And I think you have to adapt your game to to make sure that you’re able to hang with with these generations. And you know, I feel like I’m one, you know, I’m one generation ahead of Scotty, for example, who’s still in his 20s. And, um, you see all these younger kids that are coming up. Um, the likes of a Michael Torbjornson or a Luke Clanton or, um, you know, these guys that, um, you basically are ready to play at the top level coming out of college. And you have to, you know, you sort of, you have to make sure you’re stay on top of what makes you such a great player. But you also have to look at the trends and see okay well the guys that are playing well you know what are they doing or what are they is there something that I need to add to my repertoire to to to keep trying to stay ahead of them. So I think that is a very important piece of it and you know this is um you know it’s my 18th year on tour. you know, I’ve been winning, you know, professional events for 16 years, and, you know, I just think my drive to keep trying to get a little bit better or, you know, trying to look for little holes in my game that I can tidy up. I think that’s a big that’s a big piece of it. Can we go Ian Carter, please? Hi, Rory. Um, I just wonder if I could ask you to reflect on what an incredible past 20 years it’s been for golf on the island of Ireland, obviously with your major successes and the other guys, but also the fact that the Open is going back to to Royal Port Rush next week. You know, in years to come, historians are going to look at that look at that period and and see it in a in an incredible light, I would imagine. I just wonder what your reflections on that would be. Yeah, I um yeah, I think it look I um Podrick Harrington got the ball rolling. You know, he won the the Open uh in ‘ 07 at Carnusi and then he um he obviously won the backto-back majors in08 and I think that the other Irish players looked at that and that gave them belief. So, you know, um GMAC goes and wins the US Open in in 2010. I remember being at home in Northern Ireland after missing the cut that week watching him do what he did at Pebble Beach and I played basically all my practice rounds with GMAC at that point. And I thought, well, if he can win the US Open, then there’s no reason why I can’t. Um, and then I go and I I win the US Open the next year and then you see, you know, Darren Clark go and win at St. George’s. And I just think that having people that you’re close to and your peers do something that you may think is a little bit out of reach gives you that belief that you can do it. And I think just that momentum that we all had at that period in time. Um and in con junction with the RNA looking at Royal Poor Rush to potentially host the Open Championship again. Um, and then for it to go there, I think it’s it’s it it’s Irish golf, I think, you know, and and and the players that have come through and how well that we’ve done. But I also think it’s a great representation of how far Northern Ireland has come in in the last 30 or 40 years, you know, because in the ‘7s and the 80s and the ’90s, you know, no one would have dreamt of of hosting an Open Championship in Northern Ireland in in those times. So, I think it’s a a testament to the the people of Northern Ireland for how far, you know, we we as a as a country have come as well. Bob, hey Rory. Uh, I was going to ask something similar about Port Rush and obviously a lot of a lot of it occurred before your time, but you seem to have a good perspective on just how far that has come and and the idea that it’s not only hosting one, but now two in a short amount of time from where it came from where it came from. Do you have a good sense of that maybe from your dad even or you know people that you grew up with or were older than you? Yeah, I mean I I you know I I lived a little bit of it, but I was you know I think my generation honestly couldn’t care less about you know what had happened in the past and you know everyone’s you know just looking forward but yeah you you know my mom and dad both grew up in the you know 60s and the ‘ 70s and you know Northern Ireland was a was a very different place um and yeah it’s um I feel very fortunate that I’m of the generation I um that I didn’t have to to deal with any of that um or or very little of it. But um yeah, it’s it’s come a long long way. Um and I think just the support of you know, I think people really appreciate what a what a huge sporting event that the world um the world’s eyes are on that week. You know, everyone there really appreciates that and um you know, excited to to show the country in in the best light possible. And no, sorry, sorry Bob, we got to go behind. Hi Rory. In terms of this week, um it seems to be a tournament that’s getting bigger and bigger. The field is getting stronger and stronger. Would that suggest there’s more to this tournament than just the buildup to next week? Absolutely. I think that there’s a lot that uh sets this tournament apart. Um I think the I think a few of the changes that were made to the golf course over the years. Um I think the the majority of the field like the golf course a little better than say back in 2019 for example. I know that um Podrick Harrington has made a few um little tweaks here and there. Uh, and then I think the fact that it’s become a co-sanctioned event, you know, I think that’s a a big, you know, especially for, you know, some of the top guys in America to come over knowing that they’re playing an event in Europe, but they’re getting FedEx Cup points. It’s sort of crunch time in that race as well. So, I think that’s a big part of it. You know, having a great sponsor like Genesis that, you know, has put a lot of money behind this event. Um and and both tours in general with you know their Genesis Invitational over in in California. Um you know personally for me their support of TGL in America as well. You know they they’ve put a lot of a lot of money behind golf. Um so I think to have a a really good stable sponsor like that helps tremendously as well. Um, and it’s a, you know, you see the the social posts of the, you know, the American guys going out and playing North Barrack at 9:00 at night and all that. I think that has a has a certain appeal to to some guys as well. So, and it’s logistically as a as golf tournaments go, this couldn’t be any easier. You stay on site, the range is really good. You know, the course is benign enough that you don’t feel like you’re getting beat beaten up before the Open Championship. And I just think all that together it makes for a recipe for a very very good golf tournament. Okay, we’re going to finish up with Doug, please. When you you know you you want you want to win the Masters, you you and everybody basically. And if you don’t, then you you’ve got next April and next April, etc. What is it like when you you’d like to win as a pro in your home country and you have so few chances? I mean, how many times has it been at just one Irish Open at Royal County now? Uh twice. Twice. It’s been twice. um either way. Yeah. Yes. Um I think it’s the same thing. If if venues and golf matter to you, it maybe puts a little bit more pressure on you. So I Yeah. Well, I’d love to win an open at Port Rush. Absolutely. I’d love to win an open at St. Andrews. I’d love to win a US Open at Pebble Beach. Um I’d love to win a PJ at PJ Frisco. Not but no. But um I it’s like there’s there’s venues in the game that just mean a little bit more. Frisco might get there one day. Who knows? Um but it Yeah. And and I think as well having you know poor Rush and from home and and the experience I had there last time, you know, I I want to you know the Friday was amazing, the Thursday not so much. But yeah, it’s a little like, you know, when Jovovich won the Olympics last year, you know, he knew that was going to be his final chance and you saw the emotion and you saw the, you know, you saw um how much it meant to him. Yeah. You know, you you think about it and you can’t pretend that it’s not there, but when you’re on the golf course, you just have to go out there and, you know, play as if you’re not playing at home and just play as if it’s another golf tournament. But yeah, it’s a it obviously is a little more um it has a little more um like emphasis or you know there’s something extra there just like there is at an open at St. Andrews or a US Open at Pebble Beach for example. Rory, thank you for your time. Thank you. All right. All right. All right.