Rory McIlroy Aiming to Join Tiger Woods in Historic Record at Open Championship originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Rory McIlroy arrived at Royal Portrush buoyed by his victory at Augusta this April, hoping to exorcise the demons of his dramatic 2019 collapse here.

McIlroy didn't play his best Thursday at Royal Portrush but shot 1-under 70 and is three shots off the 18-hole lead.

Rory McIlroy shot 1 under Thursday at Royal Portrush, a better start than the first time he played the British Open at the Northern Ireland course near home.

Rory McIlroy's first round at Royal Portrush was the usual rollercoaster of a ride but he came through it and is just three off the lead heading into Friday.

Rory McIlroy shot 1-under 70 in the first round of the British Open at Royal Portrush that is also serving as a homecoming for the Northern Irish star

Disaster on the first when the championship returned to the county Antrim golf course six years ago has made the field very wary as they begin their rounds

Six years ago at Royal Portrush, McIlroy, who grew up less than an hour away, hit his opening shot out of bounds on the par-4 first on his way to a quadruple-bogey 8 and a 79. He pulled his tee shot again, this time around, but it settled safely in the left rough.

As the Open Championship returns to Royal Portrush, those who say Rory McIlroy shoot a record 61 around the course as a 16-year-old remember it as the day he went to "the next level" in his career.