Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy will come under the spotlight more than most this week as they prepare to take on The Open Championship.
The Open Championship returns to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, with the venue playing host to the event for the first time since 2019.
Lowry won The Open in 2019, and has already been back at the course ahead of this year’s tournament as he bids for a second major championship win.
But McIlroy missed the cut at The Open at Portrush, where he was joined by the likes of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
McIlroy is currently taking on the Scottish Open, with his close friend Lowry having opted to skip this week’s PGA Tour event.
Why The Open Championship will be different for Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy compared to 2019
The Irishman has also been reminiscing about his unforgettable victory six years ago, telling BBC Sport: “It’s funny, I always find Irish Opens quite difficult to go and play in and perform in because I try so hard and expect a lot of myself.
“Ultimately I want to win. I really, really want to win another one. And to go and play The Open in Portrush was a whole other level of that expectation and that want to succeed.
“But for some reason, it just went well that week for me. I went in there a little bit more under the radar than I normally would.
“Because of Rory and GMac (Graeme McDowell) and Clarkie (Darren Clarke) and the Portrush connection there, I felt like I was just able to go up and do my thing.
“The first time in Portrush I felt there was no expectation on me apart from myself and you know it was all a Rory show. But I feel like it’s going to be a little bit different this time.
“There will have to be something in place for me to go about my business the way I want because, ultimately, yes, it’s great – I won there last time – but I’m not going to be happy unless I perform again there this time.
“I always feel like when I go to The Open Championship, if I can rock up mentally in the right place I can achieve something good that week.
“You know, not only that week in Portrush, but even Troon last year. I feel like I didn’t get the best out of myself in Troon, albeit I had a great week, so I’ll figure something out and do my best for this one.”
How Shane Lowry felt about his golf level at The Open in 2019
The Irishman finished sixth at Royal Troon this time last year, five shots behind champion Xander Schauffele.
That should give him confidence going into Portrush, along with his fine record on the island of Ireland, having won the Irish Open as an amateur in 2009.
READ MORE: What Rory McIlroy noticed about Royal Portrush golf course when he saw it for the very first time
Discussing his last venture in Northern Ireland further, he added: “The Saturday afternoon, the last few holes was the most incredible experience my whole career. Like, Sunday it was unbelievable, but Saturday was one of those days that I will remember forever.
“Martin Slumbers (the former R&A chief executive) said it is one of his most memorable Open moments and to hear him say that was pretty cool.
“Standing in the scorers afterwards and the crowd singing and all that type of stuff, and I was playing, you know, some of the best golf in my life. I felt like I couldn’t do anything wrong.”
An opening round 67 put him just one shot behind early leader JB Holmes, with the pair then level heading into the weekend after Lowry carded the same score.
But he moved four shots ahead after a third round 63, with a final round 72 earning him a six-shot victory over Tommy Fleetwood and the Claret Jug.
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