When the 153rd Open Championship gets underway at Royal Portrush, it’s natural that one of the narratives of the tournament will center around Rory McIlroy. After all, it’s the closest thing the Northern Irishman will ever get to having a ‘home’ championship.
There’ll be an extra spring in the step of the world number two, especially if he gets off to a good start in his pursuit of his second Claret Jug and sixth Major overall.
McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler are the two clear favorites, of course, as they have been for every Major this year, and in next year’s Masters betting. That said, there are certainly numerous other candidates who are both suited to the windy links of Royal Portrush and carrying a bit of form into the year’s final Major.
Shane Lowry will relish the challenge of Royal Portrush
Perhaps most interesting of all is Shane Lowry. The Irishman was born in Clara, County Offaly. Depending on the traffic on the winding roads that weave through the center of Ireland up to the north coast of the island, Clara is about a four-hour drive from Royal Portrush. Not exactly a home championship then, but close enough.
Of course, Lowry has conquered Royal Portrush before, winning his first and only Major there in 2019. Lowry is always an interesting character to try and parse out before a Major.
He has been unfairly cast as a journeyman player rather than an elite player in the past, but as his career has progressed, he has gained more respect. He has placed in the top 5 of every Major and has 19 top-25 finishes overall (49 tournaments).
He can be patchy in his overall form, though, and he has not had the best 2025, missing the cut in both the PGA Championship and US Open, while finishing 42nd in the 2025 Masters.
Nonetheless, the challenge of Royal Portrush will be much more appetizing to Lowry than the one offered by Oakmont Country Club and Quail Hollow. Lowry won at Portrush in 2019, not just for talent alone, but because he was accustomed to the specific test of Irish links courses.
English players could come to the fore
To be clear, none of that means that Lowry will flourish at the Open. Moreover, there are plenty of other Irish and British players whose games are uniquely suited to Portrush. Tommy Fleetwood finished second behind Lowry in 2019; Tyrell Hatton finished 6th. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see either of those players in the mix again.
Yet, Lowry feels like an interesting candidate to watch. He is fast friends with McIlroy, and it was one of the most heart-warming moments of 2025 to see the genuine happiness in Lowry’s eyes as he grabbed his mate in a bear hug after McIlroy won the Masters in April.
Could we see a reversal of that at Royal Portrush, with McIlroy cheering on his friend? It’s certainly not out of the question.
