Rory McIlroy hung around to savor the moment, soaking in the adulation that rained down on him on Royal Portrush’s 18th green.

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.

Scheffler now has three career grand slam legs locked up along with his first Champion Golfer of the Year title

PGA Tour pro Wyndham Clark remained tight-lipped at The Open after getting suspended from Oakmont Country Club.

When the Open returned to Royal Portrush in 2019, a great deal of ink was spent explaining why it hadn’t visited Northern Ireland in 68 years.

By the time Rory McIlroy finished his first practice round for the British Open at Royal Portrush, a big crowd that weathered rain and sunshine was waiting to see him finish.

Erskine, the club’s then-secretary of 35 years—who many credit with bringing the Open to Portrush—was waiting for a defining moment. Some visual cue from the universe to signify the accomplishment that Portrush, after decades of political turmoil on the island of Ireland before a peace in 1998, had enticed the R&A back to this part of the world.

“Rory did win,” said Brian McDermott, from Moville, Co Donegal. “He brought the Open to Portrush. The Open would not be here without him, so that is a win. “Six years ago, he missed the cut, so to get him, and to watch him, and to see him finish – that is a win.