Rory McIlroy’s return to the Australian Open might not have started with a great score, but it didn’t stop him from receiving a warm welcome.
McIlroy shot a one-over 72 in tough conditions at Royal Melbourne, putting him seven strokes behind the early leaders after Thursday’s first round.
All eyes were on McIlroy’s group, which included Adam Scott, Australia’s only Masters winner, and Min Woo Lee, who came home as a PGA Tour winner following his Houston Open victory earlier this year.
Fans had already filled the course for McIlroy’s practice round on Wednesday. When he stepped onto the first tee for his opening round, the atmosphere was just as lively. The crowd showed up in force again when play began for real.
Rory McIlroy taken aback by Australian Open crowd
Even with his group hitting off at 7am, the atmosphere was buzzing right from the start. Fans were wide awake and fully behind McIlroy, Scott, and Lee. There wasn’t a quiet moment as they made their way to the first tee.
After his round, McIlroy spoke about the support from fans and how much it meant to him.
He said: “It was amazing, I couldn’t believe how many people were there at 7am when we teed off. It’s absolutely incredible. There are events in golf that mean a little bit more.”
“I think everyone in Australia takes so much pride in their national open, and you can really see and feel that.
“It’s a pleasure to be here again. It was great to play with Adam and Min Woo, they played really nicely, and I’m looking forward to getting out there again tomorrow.”
The contrast between this reception and what he experienced at the Ryder Cup must have been stark for McIlroy. Having fans fully behind him probably felt like a breath of fresh air.
Rory McIlroy admits he was ‘caught out’ by Royal Melbourne
Royal Melbourne is renowned as one of the world’s most challenging courses, and it certainly showed its teeth during McIlroy’s first round.
The 2025 Masters champion, who picked up five birdies but also made six bogeys, spoke after his round about how the wind conditions affected him: “I think the tricky things with this North wind is that there is a lot of heavy cross winds and depending on what you want to do with your shot, that cross wind can hurt it or help it.
“So, depending on if you want to ride the wind or fight it a touch, and then because the fairways are so wide, the angles then become where if I was in the middle of the fairway, the wind would be helping this shot, but I’m on the left side so it’s actually going to hurt it.
“I got caught out a little bit at times out there today. And you just have to keep ball down and flight it down.”
McIlroy went into Friday’s second round seven shots off Ryan Fox’s lead. The Kiwi fired a six-under 65 to set the early pace.
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