HOME comforts helped Rory McIlroy bury memories of his 2015 Royal County Down nightmare after an opening round of three-under-par put him right in the mix at the top end of the Irish Open leaderboard.
It was quite a contrast to his first day in Newcastle nine years ago when, in horrendous conditions, an eight-over round contributed to the Holywood man failing to make the cut.
Now he sits in the group just two shots behind leader Todd Clements, and with the opportunity to carry that on that momentum when he tees off at 8am on Friday morning; a forgiving forecast offering further reason to be cheerful.
During Wednesday’s press conference, McIlroy spoke about how playing before home crowds – particularly in the north – had been “a double edged sword” in the past, the added buzz bringing increased pressure.
This time around, though, he looked at ease from the first ball.
“I think it’s felt different staying at home,” said the 35-year-old.
“I feel a bit detached from the golf tournament. Today I woke up and usually when you’re at a tournament site, like say if I was staying at the Slieve Donard there, you can hear people announced on the first tee, and maybe the first thing you do is check your phone and see how the boys started off and checking the leaderboard.
“Staying an hour away, I’ve felt detached from the tournament this week, which has been quite a nice thing… I haven’t been so wrapped up in it, which is quite nice.
“That’s probably the reason why I started well, I would say.”
And, after bogeys at the 14th and 15th threatened to end his opening round on a sour note, McIlroy finished out with three birdies in-a-row to leave Royal County Down with a spring in his step.
“You know, 16 and 18 are really good birdie chances, and after the two bogeys on 14 and 15, I thought, you know, if I can get those two back, that would be a good start.
“And then to obviously get one more back as well, that birdie on 17; yeah, obviously a really nice way to finish.”
Leading the Irish charge behind McIlroy is Conor Purcell, a winner on the Challenge Tour this season at Galgorm Castle, amateur Max Kennedy and Shane Lowry, who all wound up with a one over par 72.
Padraig Harrington and Newcastle’s Simon Thornton are a further shot back, with Tom McKibbin and Seamus Power on three over.
But, as huge crowds crammed in from early on Thursday morning, there was one man most had come to see – and McIlroy didn’t disappoint. However, he feels the on-course grind could see an extended field in the mix by the time D-Day arrives.
“It’s so bunched - you’re even par and 30th, then you’re three-under and you’re fourth. It’s so bunched.
“It’s the way the golf course is. It’s hard to go very low but if you can manage your way around, even if you don’t have your game, you can make a lot of pars.
“So I think it’s going to be one of these tournaments where there’s probably going to be a lot of people in with a chance going into Sunday… just the nature of the golf course and how it plays.”
