The roar from Royal Portrush's 12th green on Saturday afternoon could wake the dead. Rory McIlroy had just drained a lengthy eagle putt, and all of Northern Ireland believed magic was possible. McIlroy's third-round 66 built major championship dreams.

In 2005, when he was 16 years old and playing in the North of Ireland Championship, Rory McIlroy set the course record at Royal Portrush by shooting a bogey-free 61 in the second round of the qualifiers. McIlroy shot a 71 at the Valley course in the first round before setting the record at the Dunluce course, the more famous and tougher of the two.

While Rory McIlroy’s Northern Ireland homecoming didn’t have the fairytale finish of winning a second Claret Jug at Royal Portrush, the atmosphere surrounding his return was still the highlight of an unforgettable Open Championship.

McIlroy has used two caddies during his professional golf career. His first was named J.P. Fitzgerald, who he had on his bag until 2017. McIlroy then switched to Harry Diamond, who has been his caddie over the last eight years.

Just as a certain Northern Irishman’s golf ball flew left, but not too far left, and safely settled in the rough, the sun peeked ou

That’s the melodious phrase people in Rory McIlroy’s homeland of Northern Ireland direct at those they suspect have let their egos get the better of them. It means ‘Get real!’ or ‘Come back to Earth!’ That phrase, and the peer pressure it describes of not getting too big for one’s ...

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland poses with daughter Poppy and wife Erica Stoll holding the Masters trophy during the Green Jacket Ceremony after winning the 2025 Masters Tournament at Augusta ...

Rory McIlroy’s Augusta National victory was a worldwide event. And it makes sense that his home club of Holywood Golf Club in Co Down, Northern Ireland, would treat this win like the Super Bowl ...