Rory McIlroy has claimed the Open going back to Northern Ireland is “bigger than me” as he insisted: “I am not the centre of attention this week”.
The European Major is back in Ulster for the first time since 1951 and world No.3 McIlroy is the best hope for a home win.
But in his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday, the 30-year-old tried to play down expectation – and said the return of the world's biggest golf tournament to his homeland after The Troubles has greater significance than his performance this week.
“It is really cool and shows how far Northern Ireland has come as a country that we are back here.
I think it just means that people have moved on. It's a different time. It's a very prosperous place.
“I can't just put the blinkers on and pretend that's not all going on. One of my sort of mantras this week is: Look around and smell the roses. This is a wonderful thing for this country and golf in general.
"And to be quite a big part of it is an honour and a privilege. And I want to keep reminding myself of that, that this is bigger than me; right? This is bigger than me.
“And I think if you can look at the bigger picture and you can see that, it sort of takes a little bit of the pressure off. I still want to play well and concentrate and do all the right things, but at the same time just having that perspective might just make me relax a little bit more.
“You've got the best players in the world here, and I don't feel like I'm the centre of attention.”
