Rory McIlroy is on site at Royal Portrush ahead of The Open Championship this week and he’s already been speaking to the media about his good friend, Shane Lowry.
Lowry goes to Royal Portrush just like McIlroy, as a previous winner of the event and desperate to get another one on Irish soil.
As it stands, McIlroy is the man in form out of the two having come up just shy at the Scottish Open.
But Lowry will be well rested and that could well play a key role in what is set to be a tough test in tricky conditions around the classic links course.
Nevertheless, and regardless of what happens, it seems nothing will be coming between McIlroy and Lowry when it comes to their bond as players.
Rory McIlroy describes how he feels about Shane Lowry
Speaking ahead of The Open this week, McIlroy was quizzed on his obviously brilliant relationship with fellow PGA Tour star, Shane Lowry.
The duo have become inseparable in recent years and won the Zurich Classic as a partnership in 2024.
And speaking about Lowry, McIlroy has admitted that their relationship has only got stronger in recent times thanks to off-course matters.
“Yeah, Shane and I have become — we’ve always been close, but I think we’ve become very close over the last sort of five or six years. I think once we both had kids, or at least once I had kids or had a daughter and I see how Shane is with his daughters, and I just think — when I say like a role model, I just think about how he is off the course, how he is able to separate his family life and his normal life from his golfing life,” McIlroy said.
“Look, I know it may be a little bit more — I’m in a bit of a different position, so it may be a little bit more difficult for me, but it’s definitely a place that I strive to be in, to be as comfortable getting away from it as he is in a way and enjoying the fruits of your success and sharing that with your loved ones.
“More so that. That’s one of my New Year’s resolutions was to have more fun. I think Shane is very good at having fun, and I need more of that in my life.”
Rory McIlroy says how different he is now compared to when he played at Royal Portrush as a 16-year-old
Those who have followed Rory McIlroy since he was a teenager will remember his brilliant round of 61 at Royal Portrush which was a course record.
Ever since then, McIlroy has been on the golfing map and it’s safe to say his career has had plenty of twists and turns since then.
Still, for McIlroy, he feels he’s a much more well-rounded golfer than when he first broke into the game.
“Yeah, honestly, I remember a little bit of it. I don’t remember a lot of it. I know I was — I think I was 9-under for the last 10 holes. I had it going with the putter a little bit. It was certainly the first time I’d ever felt, like, in the zone or that flow state or whatever you want to call it,” McIlroy admitted.
“I think as well, this golf course has changed. It’s weird the way the original 17th and 18th have been taken out of this golf course and the new 7th and 8th have been put in, but Harry and I were talking about the course last week, and he’s like, on the 12th hole — I’m like, that’s the 10th hole. He’s like, no, that’s the 12th. Even now I still remember this course the way it was and not the way it is for The Open.
I’ve only played — I played the Irish Open in 2012 but it was still the original golf course, so I’ve really only played two competitive rounds on this new golf course. It’s a little bit different.
“I think when I shot that 61 when I was 16, I had a little bit of a clue of what I was doing, but I certainly didn’t have as much of an understanding of the game or of my game as I do now.
“I think in that 20 years, technology has evolved. I don’t even think TrackMans were a thing at that point. There’s a lot of different things that have happened to the game of golf that probably push you in the direction of a scientist more than an artist. But as we all know, The Open Championship and links golf, you need to show quite a lot of artistry to do well here.”
With McIlroy already having had a great 2025, a win at The Open would simply cap things off for him.
Certainly, if he produces what he did as a youngster, he won’t be far away come Sunday.
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