Rory McIlroy looked like delivering the show the thousands who had flocked to Royal Portrush to cheer their returning hero expected, only for his bid for the first-round Open lead to collapse in the space of four holes on the back nine.
21:55, 17 Jul 2025Updated 21:55, 17 Jul 2025
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlory(Image: © 2025 PA Media, All Rights Reserved)
Rory McIlroy seemed set to deliver the performance that the thousands who had gathered at Royal Portrush to support their local hero were hoping for, only for his quest for the first-round Open lead to crumble over four holes on the back nine.
But it was a different story for Wirral’s Matthew Jordan, who finished the opening 18 holes three-under-par and just one shot off the leaders. Royal Liverpool golfer Jordan, 29, who is competing in his third Open Championship, carded six birdies and three bogeys in an entertaining round of 68.
Northern Irishman McIlroy, hailing from Holywood just an hour away, seldom visits this area due to his commitments on the PGA Tour and during his last competitive visit in 2019, he left early after failing to make the cut.
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However, after starting his round at 3.10pm with a target of four-under-par, he bounced back from a bogey at the first hole – a three-shot improvement from six years ago when he went out of bounds – stirring up excitement among the crowd, which was 10 rows deep in some areas.
While matching the 61 he scored as a 16-year-old on this course was never a possibility, being three under through 10, despite hitting only two fairways, raised hopes of a remarkable opening day.
But his erratic tee shots over the next four holes resulted in three bogeys, including one at the course’s easiest hole, the par-five 11th. Only a 12-foot par save at the 15th prevented further setbacks.
A much-needed birdie from a similar distance at the second-to-last hole, after another wayward tee shot to the left, and even though his 44-footer for a 69 just missed the cup at the 18th, the spectators left satisfied, with their favourite just three shots behind the leader.
McIlroy was joined on his round by Southport’s Tommy Fleetwood, but he too struggled to find the fairway throughout is round and after carding four bogeys and just two birdies, the 34-year-old held his nerve to hole a clutch par on the 18th and escape the day on two-over-par.
McIlroy and Fleetwood’s Ryder Cup colleague Matt Fitzpatrick, who carded a 67 for his lowest opening round in a major, led the pack alongside world number 354 Jacob Skov Olesen, China’s Li Haotong, South Africa’s Chris Bezuidenhout, and American Harris English.
Fitzpatrick, the former US Open champ, has seen a resurgence with top-10 finishes in his recent two tournaments following a season that was less than stellar, aside from a joint-eighth at the US PGA in May.
The Sheffield-born player made an impressive start with a 22-foot eagle putt on the second hole, but it was his remarkable slam-dunk chip-in for birdie on the daunting Calamity Corner par-three 16th that stole the show.
Reflecting on a tough period earlier this year, Fitzpatrick said: “I felt like The Players was the lowest I’ve felt in my career,” referring to his missed cut at Sawgrass in March.
He added, “Statistically it could be the worst run that I’ve played as well. I just didn’t feel good or know where it was going.”
However, today was a different story as he remarked, “Today I just felt like I did drove it well, approach play was good and chipped and putted well. It was just an all-around good day.”
