“Rory McIlroy had the light back in his eyes" - Insider says 5x Major champ rediscovered ‘gravy mindset’ at the Open Championship”

Rory McIlroy was one of the stars at Royal Portrush last week for the 2025 Open Championship. Following his tournament appearance in his home country of Northern Ireland, golf analyst Dan Rapaport believes McIlroy has turned an emotional corner.

The ace golfer, known to chase perfection, showed a new spirit at The Open Championship this week while enduring the pressures of a Major championship. After going through a rough patch mentally, Rapaport thinks that McIlroy looks to be a different person.

Since completing the career Grand Slam at the 2025 Masters Tournament, many fans and golf enthusiasts expected Rory McIlroy to ride the flow into other events with a "gravy mindset."

However, the Ryder Cup star has been putting tremendous pressure on his back. While there were concerns over the expectations he set for himself, last week was a different chapter of the story for the PGA Tour sensation.

Here's what Dan Rapaport had to say about Rory McIlroy's mental state (via Dan on Golf, 29:11 - 30:37):

"Rory had the light back in his eyes and it was so great to see. And we saw it from the press conference on Monday all the way through the week...There was this angst he had at every Major before he won the Masters...He finally seems to have accessed the this is all gravy mindset that we wanted him to adopt after the Masters."

Dan Rapaport expected the 'gravy go with the flow mindset' to kick in after McIlroy won the Masters Tournament. He added that all the Northern Irishman did differently this week was just be himself and embrace his golf game.

---

How did Rory McIlroy perform at the Open Championship?

The 2025 Open Championship was concluded on Sunday, July 20. Rory McIlroy was a fan favorite competing in his native country's most prestigious golf courses.

The TGL co-founder opened up the Major championship with a 1-under par 70 score and followed it up with a 2-under par 69 round.

Saturday's round saw McIlroy post his best score of the week. The Northern Irishman recorded four birdies and one eagle to post a 5-under par 66 round.

The final round of the 2025 Open Championship saw Rory McIlroy card five birdies and one bogey. However, a double bogey 6 on the par-4 10th hole set him back.

Having ended Sunday's (July 20) round with a 2-under par 69 round, the 36-year-old dropped three spots down the leaderboard to end the Major championship tied for 7th place with a 72-hole score total of 10-under par. He shared the position with Robert MacIntyre and Xander Schauffele.

Edited by Samya Majumdar