It was a return six years in the making, and it was a return that perfectly encapsulated Rory McIlroy. Making the trek back to Royal Portrush for The Open Championship -- now as a career grand slam winner -- the Northern Irishman experienced a topsy-turvy day as the hard stuff came easy and the easy stuff came hard.

Rory McIlroy is looking to win his second Open Championship and sixth major overall in front of a home crowd at Portrush, and put a recent run of near misses behind him

Rory McIlroy, who has experienced both joy and heartbreak at the Open Championship, needed his wife Erica Stoll following one especially tough moment at the 2022 event

How to watch every single shot from the biggest names in golf throughout Round 2 at the 2025 Open Championship

Rory McIlroy is racing around Royal Portrush again. A smart choice on the 2nd hole kept him in the hunt at the Open while you were sleeping.

The winner stands to earn a healthy cash reward despite The Open lagging behind the other three majors for prize money

So here is our final major big board of the year, ranking the top 30 golfers in the field. This is not simply the 30 best golfers in a vacuum. These are the 30 golfers that our crack team of Gabby Herzig, Hugh Kellenberger and Brody Miller believe are best suited to win this week at Royal Portrush.

Rain lashed from above, North Atlantic winds pummeled from the side, and thousands of excited, umbrella-wielding shapes swirled amongst it all, yet the man at the eye of the storm remained entirely unflustered.

Rory McIlroy stayed true to his word. On the eve of the 153rd Open Championship, he said that he is now a complete enough player that he can play poorly and still compile a first round that affords him a chance.