Rory McIlroy finished round one of The Open three shots off the lead, having carded an opening round one-under 70.
McIlroy can be confident of winning The Open, which is now into its second round at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
And unsurprisingly, Northern Irishman McIlroy is the centre of attention this week, with the majority of fans hoping he can lift the Claret Jug on Sunday.
McIlroy missed The Open cut in 2019, when the major championship was last held at Royal Portrush, with Shane Lowry emerging victorious.
Back then, the home favourite started with a first round 79, which included a quadruple bogey eight on hole one.
Ryan Lavner saw something ‘unbelievable’ from Rory McIlroy at The Open
He is in a much better position at The Open this time around, although the five-time major winner did start with a bogey on the first.
Sharing his thoughts on McIlroy’s opening round, Ryan Lavner said on the Golf Channel Podcast with Rex & Lav: “I have two takes.
“One, I thought the first tee atmosphere was pretty subdued and the reason why I think is just because of logistics.
“It is a relatively small grandstand that is surrounding the first tee. It is just eight or nine rows deep and it encircles it like a U.
“Was it louder for Rory McIlroy than any other player? Certainly. But I don’t think it was as rife with anticipation as we have seen at a Ryder Cup, where you have a huge stadium built.
“I do think logistically it was just a little bit tame. Throughout the course of the day though, walking around with Rory, which I did for his last nine holes.
“It is unbelievable, it is an overwhelming amount of support the likes of which I am not sure I have ever experienced and I don’t know if I have a comparison for it, certainly among the modern players.
“I think of Justin Thomas, who is a Louisville kid, he goes back to Valhalla last year for the PGA Championship and it’s nice, it’s a feel good story and there is obviously some crowd support but this is like an entirely different animal where everyone on property is rooting with all of their being for Rory McIlroy to win this golf tournament.
“All I could think about as I walked around with him is the immense amount of pressure he has to feel to perform for those fans, which in some spots were 10 to 15 rows deep. It is incredible to think about, that an entire country is trying to push him to the finish line.”
Rory McIlroy told what he must do in round two of The Open at Royal Portrush
McIlroy may have mixed feelings about his opening round, which included a mix of superb efforts with some very poor shots.
Overall, however, he can be satisfied, particularly given what happened in 2019 and indeed the aforementioned huge pressure he is under.
Further discussing the Northern Irishman, Lavner said: “Will he succeed? I don’t know. I thought this was a pretty good performance, despite hitting two fairways and hacking out of the rough and splashing out of fairway bunkers basically the entire day.
“He did well to shoot under par. Does he need to be cleaner? Absolutely. He is playing with a lot of risk at this point.
| Stat | Total | Rank |
| Birdies | 5 | T4 |
| Pars | 9 | T128 |
| Bogeys | 4 | T72 |
“It cost him last week at the Scottish Open, he was outside the top 50 in strokes gained off the tee, his proximity to the hole was great, his putting was great for the most part.
“I think what you saw on Thursday, his approach play was strong and he had some really nice play particularly on the back nine to keep into it. Made some putts as well.
“But he has to put the ball in play more often because if the wind picks up and we do get some rain you are just not going to be able to recover the way he did in his opening round.”
It remains to be seen just how much the weather will have an impact on proceedings on Friday, where a mix of rain and wind can be expected once more.
Another certainty is huge support for McIlroy, which is only going to increase for The Masters champion as the week progresses.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
