Rory McIlroy admitted to feeling the pressure of a whole country’s expectations as he returned to his native Northern Ireland for The Open at Portrush.

Matthew Phillip urged people not to scapegoat the carnival, which has faced criticism in recent years for not tackling violent crime.

That was set by McIlroy’s Ryder Cup team-mate Matt Fitzpatrick, whose 67 was the lowest opening round of his major career, world number 354 Jacob Skov Olesen, China’s Li Haotong, South African Chris ...