Rory McIlroy last night admitted he had been "overwhelmed" by the response to his historic US Open victory last month.
The 22-year-old Northern Irishman arrived at Royal St George’s yesterday to launch his attempt to win consecutive majors, with the Open Championship getting underway in Sandwich tomorrow.
“I didn’t realise how much of a fuss it would create or how much of a buzz there would be,” said the world No.4. “I thought it was great for me to win the US Open and win my first major. The support I’ve had from people back home, from everyone from all over the world, has been pretty overwhelming.”
Following his record-breaking eight-shot triumph in the US event at Congressional in mid-June, which made him the youngest winner of the title since 1923, McIlroy has not played a competitive round.
The fanfare surrounding the Holywood youngster, which was already at fever pitch prior to his major breakthrough, has reached new levels as he returns to the spotlight this week, but McIlroy is refusing to be sidetracked by the hype.
He added: “I’ve already noticed over the past three weeks that it has been a bit of a life-changing experience and it’s just something I’m going to have to deal with. This is what I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve always wanted to be a successful golfer and be one of the best players in the world and to win major championships. If I have to put up with a few things along the way, then I’m fine with that.”
If the expectation is heavy, so have been the wagers. Two separate bets of £20,000 have been made at odds of 8-1 for the Northern Irishman to win the 140th Open Championship. Asked if this was the act of shrewd punters or of desperate men, McIlroy replied to laughter: “I will go for the first option.”
A favourite with the bookmakers, McIlroy languishes behind two Englishmen in the world rankings -- Luke Donald, the world No.1, and Lee Westwood, the world No.2 -- both of whom spoke of ending the drought of English winners of the Open, last broken by Nick Faldo at Muirfield in 1992.
Westwood accepted that Royal St George’s would be an ideal spot for an English winner. “It’s named after St George so you can’t get much more English than that. It would mean everything to win this championship,” he said.
Donald, meanwhile, tried to keep the spotlight firmly on McIlroy.
“Obviously Rory is at the forefront of a lot of people’s minds, and rightly so,” he said. “He was impressive in the US Open and winning majors is a big deal, and he did it in great fashion.
“A lot of the attention is on him and maybe a little bit more of the pressure as well.”
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