Rory achieved an ambition he had held since being 6 years old by winning The Open and lifting the Claret Jug at Royal Liverpool.
"I've thought about what it would mean and how special it would be to win an Open at Royal Portrush in front of a home crowd." Rory Mcilroy
Rory drives down the 7th hole.
Rory at the back of the iconic 5th hole
A winner of four majors before the age of 26, including the 2014 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, where he beat Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler by two strokes.
McIlroy has since finished fifth, fourth and joint second at The Open, the latter position achieved behind Francesco Molinari at Carnoustie in 2018.
He was an eight-shot winner of both the 2011 U.S. Open and 2012 PGA Championship, the first of those making him at 22 the youngest holder of the trophy since Bobby Jones in 1923. Three weeks after his Hoylake success he added a second PGA crown and fourth major.
A star from a young age, McIlroy was the European Amateur Champion at 17 and the leading amateur in the 2007 Open at Carnoustie aged 18. Three years later at St Andrews he equalled the then major record of 63 en route to finishing third.
He has had eight spells as world No. 1, has been part of six Ryder Cup sides and has 21 PGA Tour wins, including three World Golf Championships and two successes at the Tour Championship that made him the 2016 and 2019 FedEx Cup champion.
McIlroy needs only The Masters to complete a career Grand Slam of all four majors and at Augusta in April he finished runner-up to Scottie Scheffler after a dazzling closing 64.