Three reasons why Rory McIlroy can be quietly confident about winning The Open Championship at Royal Portrush

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Rory McIlroy is set to dominate the headlines for the coming days as The Open Championship heads to Royal Portrush.

The Royal Portrush greens have surprised McIlroy, who has returned to his home country to take on the major championship.

McIlroy missed The Open Championship cut in 2019, the last time the tournament was held at Royal Portrush.

He will have been delighted for his close friend Shane Lowry coming out on top, but hugely disappointed by his own shortcomings.

However, a lot has changed for the Northern Irishman since then, including McIlroy completing the career grand slam.

Why Rory McIlroy can be confident about winning The Open Championship

He has joined an exclusive group with that achievement at The Masters, but will be eager to add to his five major championship wins, starting this week.

And there may just be three reasons why McIlroy can be quietly confident of doing exactly that as the countdown to The Open Championship continues.

Rory McIlroy will want revenge for The Open Championship missed cut

Revenge is a great motivator, and while McIlroy must be smart with his behaviour this week, that specific emotion should help him.

He narrowly missed the one-over cut by a single shot last time out, but knows he can do much, much better at Portrush.

READ MORE: Shane Lowry says why The Open Championship will be different for him and Rory McIlroy this year compared to 2019

The Northern Irishman carded rounds of 79 and 65 six years ago, and while he will be keen to put that behind him, it wouldn’t hurt to have that missed cut in the back of his mind.

Home favorite returns to Royal Portrush

McIlroy was well aware that he let his home fans down last time, but they still showed immense support for their hero.

That same support will be on display again this time around, and a more relaxed McIlroy should be given a huge lift by those fans, who he won’t want to disappoint again.

READ MORE: What Rory McIlroy noticed about Royal Portrush golf course when he saw it for the very first time

Moreover, he knows the course and knows what challenges may arise with the weather, having grown up playing at Northern Ireland’s Holywood Golf Club.

Rory McIlroy enters The Open Championship in fantastic form

While American players Scottie Scheffler and J.J. Spaun are this season’s other major championship winners, Europeans have really enjoyed themselves on the PGA Tour in 2025.

And sitting top of the pile is McIlroy, who has taken his career wins tally to 29 thanks to three wins this season already.

They have arrived at The Masters, the Players Championship and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, while his overall stats read seven top 10s and 12/13 cuts made.

He also has a very timely runner-up finish to his name, having just missed out on last week’s Scottish Open title.