McIlroy could not reproduce his Saturday magic to catch Scottie Scheffler, but he still achieved a level of redemption at his home Open

If McIlroy didn’t quite deliver, then Royal Portrush — where he shot 61 as a 16-year-old for the course record — certainly did, gaining widespread rave reviews.

The father's voice cut through the noise along the rope line at the fourth hole, pleading with strangers to let his young son glimpse the man they'd all come to see. For four days, similar requests had been met with shoulder shrugs and territorial shuffling,