RORY McILROY kept his head among the intense adulation of his home crowd as he shot a one-under-par 70 in the first round of The Open at Portrush.
The Northern Irishman had crumbled under similar pressure when the event was – taking a quadruple-bogey eight at the first hole and missing the cut.
But the , who completed a career Grand Slam at Augusta in April, after a day when he was wayward off the tee but hot on the greens.
said: “The crowd were absolutely incredible. I felt the support of an entire country.
“That’s a great position to be in but at the same time it brings some added pressure because I didn’t want to let them down.
“I dealt with that pressure pretty well – I certainly dealt with it better than I did six years ago!
“I am happy to give myself a good start and get myself into the tournament.
“I’m surprised four-under is leading, a thought someone would go out and shoot six or seven under
“I knew what to expect, it wasn’t new to me playing at an Open at home, and that experience definitely helped.
“I didn’t feel I was walking into the unknown, unlike last time when I hadn’t experienced this before.”;
McIlroy sank a crucial 12-foot putt for par on the 15th, having carded three bogeys in the previous four holes – before a birdie on 17 left him under par for the round.
He said: “That par putt on 15 was a big one having bogeyed three of the last four.
“That was a huge putt, it kept whatever momentum I had and then to go one under for the final three was pleasing.
“The wind picked up a bit on the back nine and that made it more difficult.
“It was a tough day, spending a lot of time in the rough and fairway bunkers, so to shoot under par is a bonus.”;
