Rory Mcilroy of Northern Ireland signs autographs with spectators during practice prior to The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club on July 14, 2025 in Portrush, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

Pádraig Harrington will hit the first tee shot in The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush on Thursday, still searching for perfection and battling the same demons that have lurked in the shadows of his golfing life for the best part of 40 years.

It’s golf’s never-ending story — not man against the elements but man versus himself — and it applies too to fellow Open champions Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy, too.

Friends since their amateur days and closer now than ever as they deal with worldwide fame and try to enjoy their considerable wealth and maintain a normal family life in their Florida exile, their pre tournament press conferences not only illustrated how different they are but also how the deal with the perennial golfing conundrum of marrying form and expectations both internal and external.

For McIlroy, this week represents a glorious homecoming following his career Grand Slam achievement at the Masters.

And having learned the hard way in 2019, when he took eight at the first and opened with a 79 that not even an inspired Friday 65 could repair, he knows he must embrace the crowd and their expectations and win the internal battle this week

“I think that brought its own sort of pressure and more internally from myself and not really wanting to let people down,” he said of 2019 and his failed bid to “isolate” himself from the noise.

“I guess it's just something I didn't mentally prepare for that day or that week. But I learned pretty quickly that one of my challenges, especially in a week like this, is controlling myself and controlling that battle

“I talked about it at the Masters on that last day. The battle on that last day wasn't with Augusta National. It wasn't with Bryson. It wasn't with Justin Rose. The battle that day was with myself.

“I think whenever you get put in environments like that, that's basically what it is. It's you trying to overcome your mind and trying to give yourself that clarity to give yourself the best chance to put together a really good performance.”

Shane Lowry of Ireland plays a shot during practice prior to The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club on July 14, 2025 in Portrush, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Alex Pantling/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

McIlroy struggled to perform in his first four individual events after his momentous Masters win.
While he was 10-under at the Truist Championship, he shot three over for four rounds at the US PGA, nine over at the Canadian Open and seven over at the US Open, even with a closing 67.

Normal service has now been resumed, as evidenced by a stroke average of 66.87 for his last eight competitive rounds at the Travelers Championship and the Scottish Open.

“It hasn't taken me that long,” he said of his post-Masters funk. “Jesus, it’s been 10 weeks or whatever it is. I've alluded to this, but I probably just didn't give myself enough time to let it all sink in. But that's the nature of professional golf. They do a very good job of keeping you on the hamster wheel, and you feel like it's hard to get off at times

“But it's been an amazing year. The fact that I'm here at Portrush with the green jacket, having completed that lifelong dream, as you said, I want to do my best this week to enjoy everything that comes my way and enjoy the reaction of the fans and enjoy being in front of them and playing in front of them.

“But at the same time, I want to win this golf tournament, and I feel like I'm very capable of doing that.”

While he readily admits that topping the Masters in terms of its significance in his career might be impossible, he’s got many more Mt Everests to climb, starting this week.

"I still feel like there's a lot left in there,” he said. "The story certainly isn't over."

Lowry had his own career-defining moment at Royal Portrush in 2019 and must find a way this week to turn the clock back to zero, forget his six-shot win over Tommy Fleetwood, and find the mental strength to get out of his own way and let the good golf flow.

Since returning home from the US three weeks ago, he’s steeped himself in links golf, playing Portmarnock, The Island, County Louth, Royal Portrush and Waterville as well as Hogs Head and the Ryder Cup course at Adare Manor.

He’s arguably played some of the best golf of his career over the past two years. But after closing with an 81 in the Masters, missing the cut in the US PGA and then under-performing spectacularly in the US Open at Oakmont (79,78), he’s battling to play down the feel-good factor he has about his links game and striving to maintain the competitive tension that brings out the best in him

"Sometimes when everything is going really well, I get complacent and then all of a sudden, before I know it, I'm three over through five, and then you start to panic because you feel like you're going to do well,” he said.

"I feel like when things are not going well, it's when I'm at my best. Or when I don't feel like things are going well.

"I go back to 2019 here. I had a meltdown on the Wednesday because I thought I wasn't going to go out and play well and but that focuses me in a little bit more.

"So if I can keep my complacency away and my expectation down, that's when I'm at my best."
Asked the obvious follow-up question — "So how are you feeling?" — Lowry could only smile.

"I played great the last two days," he said with a broad grin. "That's not great. Obviously, I've had a great week. I've had a great week of practice. "I just need to play sh*t for the next couple of days and I'll be alright!”