THE 2019 Open at Royal Portrush was a remarkable week, one splashed with a series of moments indelibly printed in the memory banks of those who experienced them: watching Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer win the Cricket World Cup on the big screens in the tented village, giddy nights in the Harbour Bar, the shock behind the first green as it dawned on everyone that Rory McIlroy had biffed his opening tee shot out of bounds, his four-putt later that day at Calamity Corner, a remarkable rendition of Enrique Iglesias’s Hero at a karaoke bar on Friday night, someone shouting “it’s not a three pipe problem” at slow coach JB Holmes (a wonderfully niche Sherlock reference), the rain, the wind, the cold, and the sheer joy of the galleries defying it all.
Here’s an unlikely favorite memory, though: the food court on Friday afternoon. Overhead the skies were dark and gloomy, and it seemed to be a metaphor for home hero McIlroy’s hopes of making the weekend, never mind contend, after a chaotic opening round of 79. Drizzle was in the air but that food court was packed, and every man, woman, and child turned to see what happened next, all too aware of the first tee pratfall the day before.
When his ball found the middle of fairway the punters cheered, and then they roared, and then they laughed at the sheer fun of it all. None of this hilarity was mocking. Instead it was a very human – and a very soggy – scene and wonderful to experience.
McIlroy made the turn in 2-under at which point his path crossed with Shane Lowry whose galleries were jogging across the dunes in excitement, many of them carrying betting slips with his name on. The vibe over there was pure Cheltenham, but McIlroy needed more, and he delivered with three birdies in a row.
Seven of the nine men who had played the par-3 13th before him had made birdie, but McIlroy contrived to drop a shot. The next hole was the most difficult hole on the course, so, of course, he birdied it. Peak McIlroy: making the easy look impossible and the impossible appear easy.
Back at Calamity Corner, the terrifying par-3 at the top of the dunes, he laughed in the face of the first-round debacle by lacing his tee shot to 10-feet and draining the putt for birdie.
With just 17 and 18 to play, he needed one par breaker to make the weekend, and the energy was electric. He parred 17 and just missed the green at 18 after attacking the pin. The grandstands rose to acclaim him, nonetheless. As he crouched over the chip the massed photographers on a greenside platform dipped heads into their cameras and one said: “Big moment boys. Hole this and this place will go nuts.”
He didn’t hole it, but the galleries didn’t move. They cheered McIlroy from the green, then they moved to the back of the grandstands to sing his name and the ad-hoc choir remained for a long, long time.
“I’m unbelievably proud of how I handled myself today and full of gratitude towards every single one of the people that followed me to the very end and was willing me on,” he said afterwards.
“I didn’t know how people were going to react to yesterday, how many people were going to be on the first tee. But to have that many people out there following me, supporting me, and cheering my name, it meant the world to me.
“It’s been an eye-opener. Sometimes you’re so far away and you forget about all the people that are cheering you on back home. And then you come and play in front of them – it definitely hit me like a ton of bricks today.”
In one sense, then, McIlroy was a winner in 2019. But it’s not the type of win he’ll be interested in this week. He wants a Green Jacket-Claret Jug double, and he craves what his friend Lowry enjoyed six years ago: the thrill of winning in front of delirious galleries.
He can do it, of course. Aside from anything else, he holds the old course record of 61 (before two holes were changed ahead of the 2019 championship). Jon Rahm is a threat, too, given his fondness for an Irish links test. But are the pair worth a bet this week? At the prices, we’ll swerve and go for four alternatives.
Viktor Hovland
What are we looking for this week? Key factors are proof of Open credentials, recent experience of contending in a major, a tee time last week in Scotland, and Harry Colt competence (Lowry is an expert on Colt’s West Course at Wentworth). Ludvig Aberg would appeal with more Open experience, so instead we’ll cross the border to Norway.
Hovland was T13 on his Open debut at Royal St. George’s in 2021, fourth on the Old Course in 2022 (when co-leading with 18 holes to play) and T13 at Royal Liverpool in 2023. A winner in March, even he was a little unconvinced that he’d rediscovered his best form, but third in the US Open, a 63 in the Travelers Championship, and T11 last week in Scotland is more sustained evidence. He’s also been fifth on his last two visits to Wentworth.
Ryan Fox
The Kiwi is not only a Wentworth winner (in 2023), but he also proved his links savvy when winning the 2022 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and finishing second in defense of the title. He’s landed top four finishes on the Irish linksland, at Portstewart (a few miles from Portrush) and Ballyliffin (on the nearby Inishowen peninsula). He even won the Northern Ireland Open on the Challenge Tour at Galgorm Castle – not on the linksland but another venue not far from Portrush. Finally, he’s a two-time PGA Tour winner this year and his best ever major finish was at Royal Portrush in 2019.
Thriston Lawrence
The South African was fourth in the Open last year, and while he was a little fortunate to play in Saturday’s good weather, he was very impressive with both his links game and composure in hanging around all Sunday. Later in the year he played nicely at Royal County Down; he was second at Wentworth, and after a rotten start to the year, he was T12 in the US Open and eighth two starts ago in Detroit.
Matteo Manassero
Take a chance on the Italian who 16 years ago played at Turnberry, aged just 16, alongside the 59-year-old Tom Watson when the American very nearly lifted the Claret Jug. That’s only a detail, of course. What is of more interest is that Manassero was third at Royal County Down last September, and he also threatened to win Wentworth for a second time soon after. He didn’t play well last week but was sixth in his previous start at the Canadian Open.
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