Walking with Rory: The sights and sounds of an Open round with McIlroy

Rory McIlroy is a golfer who uniquely captures the public’s imagination. Luke Baker finds out what it’s like to walk 18 holes with the Northern Irishman

Rory McIlroy tees off at Royal Liverpool, Hoylake (Reuters)

Come on Roryyyy.

The simple refrain soundtracks every round of golf Rory McIlroy plays. When that round is on home shores and the stakes are as high as they are at the 151^st Open Championship at Hoylake, it becomes almost incessant.

The bigger the moment or the greater the shot produced, the more elongated and insistent that second syllable becomes.

Come on Roryyyyyyyyyy.

It’s a chant that has an almost sing-song quality to it and you wonder how different the atmosphere would feel if McIlroy’s parents had called him Ben or John or some other less musically-pleasing, one-syllable name.

Instead, the UK’s most popular – and best – golfer enjoys hundreds upon hundreds of supporters on every hole revelling in serenading their hero.

Come on Roryyyy.

Rory McIlroy fought hard in his opening round at Royal Liverpool (AP)

The rapturous reception McIlroy received on the first tee at Royal Liverpool on Thursday afternoon as he began his 2023 Open campaign was enough to send shivers down the spine. With the grandstand full to capacity and every inch of yellow rope holding back a throng of spectators at least four or five people deep, the roars showed just how beloved the Northern Irishman is. The fact that nearly every hand was in the air trying to film his opening tee shot proves what a box-office draw he is.

It made the sudden pin-drop silence as his drive flew to the right and into the rough all the more remarkable, as if the air had suddenly been sucked out of the Merseyside course. But the encouraging cheers soon returned – their man needed them to lift him, so they stepped up. And the 34-year-old responded with a scrambled par save.

Come on Roryyyy.

There are a number of factors that make McIlroy so enduringly popular. The first is that he’s a simply brilliant golfer – a four-time major winner, three-time FedEx Cup champion, more than 120 weeks spent as world No 1 and 37 worldwide tournament wins to his name. The list of accolades is almost endless and he can do things with a golf ball that others can only dream of. There is a bristle of excitement among the crowd whenever he addresses the ball because they never know exactly what they’re about to witness but can count on it being special.

He’s also extremely likeable. He has an endearingly enthusiastic demeanour, invariably plays with a smile on his face, bounces down fairways and comes across well in interviews. During the ongoing LIV Golf vs PGA Tour civil war that has enveloped golf over the past 18 months, he’s demonstrated a strong moral compass as the de facto leader of the “loyalists”.

He’s also been humanised by very public failures on the golf course. At the age of just 21, he looked set to win the 2011 Masters only to heartbreakingly make a triple bogey at the 10th and a four-putt double bogey at the 12th to end up 10 strokes back in a tie for 15th. “This was my first experience of it,” a shell-shocked McIlroy said afterwards. “Hopefully, next time I’m in this position, I’ll be able to handle it a little better.”

Crowds come out in their droves to watch McIlroy (Reuters)

It’s fair to say he did. He promptly bounced back to win the US PGA just two months later and racked up four majors in the following three years. However, he has since gone on a nine-year major drought despite winning everything else in the game – spurning a number of glorious chances, not least at last year’s Open at St Andrews when Cam Smith came roaring past him down the back nine on Sunday to snatch the Claret Jug.

The desperation among spectators for him to end that drought this week is palpable.

Come on Roryyyy.

The stars appear to be aligning for McIlroy. He won the Open when it last visited Royal Liverpool in 2014, so has happy memories of the course, and is in fine form as proven by his Scottish Open victory last week thanks to incredible birdies in treacherous conditions at 17 and 18 on Sunday.

On Thursday, the McIlroy magic revealed itself as early as the 2nd hole. Much like the 1st, his tee shot again leaked way to the right but he got a free drop due to the grandstand impeding him. He took advantage in style, firing a miraculous iron to 3ft for a tap-in birdie and sending the crowd into whoops and hollers of delight. From the ridiculous to the sublime – it was Rory McIlroy in a nutshell.

Come on Roryyyy.

The beauty of watching golf, both as a fan or as a member of the press pack, is how uniquely close-up you get to see the players. If you attend football, rugby, cricket, tennis, or myriad other sports, you watch from the stands, distinctly separated from the world-class athletes below.

In golf, depending where the ball ends up, fans can almost reach out and touch the players at times. And as a member of the media, you get “inside the ropes” access – allowing you to step past the barrier that restricts the spectators to literally walk the course alongside those playing in the tournament.

The McIlroy rollercoaster was at full speed on Thursday (Reuters)

It enables you to see every facial expression, every flash of anguish or moment of delight and get a glimpse into what these men are feeling. You can almost viscerally feel McIlroy’s lean-back of disappointment as his par putt on the 4th, after escaping from the bunker, slipped just by the hole. You can see the frustration as a brilliant chip shot from the greenside rough thrown high into the air at the 5th was followed by the missing of a makeable birdie putt. The grim look of determination as a tricky par putt at the 6th found the bottom of the cup becomes clear.

Such is McIlroy’s popularity that even at the quietest points of the Hoylake course – holes 9 through 12 at the westerly edge of the site – there were still huge numbers following him and urging him on with frenzied cheers.

Come on Roryyyy.

Throughout the round, there was some variation in the calls from the crowd. There was the sweetly supportive “don’t worry Rory, it’s alright”, after he bogeyed the 12th and the slightly less sweet, but clearly instructive, “don’t f**k it, Rory” from an inebriated fan before a tricky par putt.

Impressive birdies at 14 and 15 got him back to level par before, on the final hole, the loudest roars of the day. McIlroy failed to get out of a vicious greenside bunker on his first attempt but, with one foot in the sand and the other awkwardly hanging out of the trap, he produced a miraculous up-and-down to save par for a round of 71. Five shots off the overnight lead but still well in the tournament.

And as the crowd dispersed, still buzzing from what they had just witnessed, that constant refrain echoed into the Merseyside night. Who knows, perhaps it will be chanted on that same 18th green on Sunday evening as the man himself lifts the Claret Jug and ends nine years of pain?

Come on Roryyyy.