Six years after his emotional missed cut at Royal Portrush, McIlroy stuck around for four days of heavy praise from the hometown crowd, which showered McIlroy all the way through his 10-under performance and T-7 finish.

The child stood transfixed, overwhelmed by the moment, until reality crashed back when McIlroy had already moved 50 yards past. Panic flashed across the boy's face—had he missed his chance? He found his voice.

Rory McIlroy climbed the leaderboard Saturday at the 2025 Open Championship thanks in large part to an electric eagle putt on the par-five 12th.

So, this was weird: Rory McIlroy, playing his second shot from the rough on the 11th at Royal Portrush in Round 3 of the British Open, somehow managed to unearth another ball in mid-swing. The second ball was apparently embedded in the ground a few inches ahead of McIlroy's ball, and popped into the air as McIlroy's shot flew greenward.

In post-round interviews, especially during bigger tournaments, you'll often hear tour pros say they plan to go back to their hotels or rental homes and get their minds off golf. For some that may mean playing with the kids,

The Northern Ireland native picked up a ball from the thick rough, held it out in front of him and burst out laughing. While hitting a shot, he unearthed another ball.

In something you'll have to see to believe, Rory McIlroy hit not only his own golf ball but a second one buried in the turf close to his on the 11th hole.

If you played enough golf like Rory McIlroy, you'd think you've seen everything that can happen on a golf course. If you've watched as much golf as his fans have through the years, you'd think the same.

Scheffler posted a 64 on Friday in the second round of the British Open, which had him just a shot off the course record in Northern Ireland. He left a birdie putt painfully short at the final hole, too. That moved the top-ranked golfer in the world into the solo lead at the midway point of the final major championship of the season.