Rory McIlroy is on familiar soil.
Eleven days after a tie for ninth in the Tour Championship, McIlroy fired a first-round 68 on Thursday in the 2024 Amgen Irish Open. The event is being held at Royal County Down in his home nation of Northern Ireland, which ranks No. 1 on Golfweek’s Best list of courses outside the U.S.
McIlroy raves about it, saying, “I definitely think it’s the best links course in the world.”
He won the 2016 Irish Open crown at The K Club but a year prior, when the Irish Open was at Royal County Down, he missed the cut. He also missed the Open Championship cut in 2019 at Royal Portrush, also in Northern Ireland.
“The couple Irish Opens that I’ve played in Northern Ireland, the one Open Championship I played in Northern Ireland, hasn’t gone so well,” he said ahead of this year’s event. “It’s on me to try and relax and go about my business as I would at any other time of the year. It’s great to play in front of them (the fans) but I have to manage my own little world around me to try to get the best out of myself as well.”
During Thursday’s round, McIlroy opened with a birdie but back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 14 and 15 dropped him back to even par. He then birdied his final three holes to finish 3 under on the day.
McIlroy is tied for third four others. Sami Valimaki and Alejandro Del Ray are tied for second at 4 under.
Everyone’s chasing Todd Clement of England, who fired a a 5-under 66, a round he capped off with an eagle on the 18th hole. He hit his second into the 540-yard par-5 to 17 feet, then drained the eagle putt.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Rory McIlroy returns to home soil for Amgen Irish Open, sits two back after first round
