THE 153RD OPEN

July 19, 2025

Rory McIlroy

Mixed Zone

Q. Rory, amazing atmosphere out there today, which you seemed to be really enjoying. How was that for you?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, it was incredible. It was so much fun. I got off to the perfect start, 3-under through 4. Felt like at the end of the front nine there, at least through 11, the par on 7 felt like a bogey, and then the bogey on 11.

Then to play those last seven holes at 3-under I thought was a good effort. Yeah, I played well. I rode my luck at times, but yeah, it was an incredible atmosphere out there. I feel like I've at least given myself half a chance tomorrow.

Q. Can you talk us through some of the soap opera events out there, not just the fast start, but what happened on 11? Then the incredible response with the 56-foot eagle putt on 12 and then the birdie on 15, which was a tap-in.

RORY McILROY: Obviously a great start, sort of like the dream start to be able to be 3-under through 4 and have 5 and 7 to play. To not birdie those was a little disappointing.

Yeah, what happened on 11 was just so -- my ball came out so strange, like I thought I was going to get a flier, and I looked up at my ball, and I could see it spinning up against the wind. Just a really weird -- I had obviously no idea there was a ball anywhere close to my ball.

I could have done better with the chip shot there anyway. That was the bogey -- I mean, making bogey on 11 is not the end of the world. It's a tough hole. Yeah, the eagle on 12 was one of the coolest moments of -- it's one of the largest roars I've ever heard on a golf course. So that was a really cool moment. To get those shots back straight away was nice, and I felt like I played the last few holes really solid and picked one up coming in, which was good.

Q. What's your plan between now and your tee time tomorrow?

RORY McILROY: Grab some dinner, try to sleep as much as I can. Don't have any rugby to distract me tomorrow morning. Watched New Zealand-France and the Lions game.

I'll try to find something to watch. I started "Oppenheimer" last night. Try to get through another hour of it tonight and maybe finish it tomorrow morning. Apart from that, just keep my mind off of things. I always do better with distraction. So if I can just distract myself and get my mind on something else, that's always a good plan for me.

Q. What are your thoughts on how Scottie is doing to this point?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, he's playing like Scottie. I don't think it's a surprise. Everyone's seen the way he's played or plays over the last two or three years. He's just so solid. He doesn't make mistakes. It looked like he could have made bogey on 14 there.

He's turned himself into a really consistent putter as well. So there doesn't seem to be any weakness there. Whenever you're trying to chase down a guy like that, it's hard to do. But he's incredibly impressive.

Q. You seemed to be open-mouthed in amazement after what happened on 11. Is that one of the strangest things you've ever experienced on a golf course?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, it's never happened to me before. It could never happen on any other course but a links course as well. When the rough is all matted down and the balls get -- it was very strange.