Today’s back pages: Rory McIlroy’s misery after meltdown at The Open

Rory McIlroy’s hopes of winning The Open on home soil are in tatters after a disastrous opening round at Royal Portrush yesterday.

The Northern Irishman hit a first-round 79 after a quadruple bogey on hole one and a triple bogey on the last.

This left the 30-year-old eight-over par, 13 shots behind clubhouse leader JB Holmes.

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After his horror round McIlroy said “I want to punch myself”, the Daily Express reports.

It was a “rough day for Rory”, says the Daily Mail, while The Guardian described McIlroy’s first-round 79 as a “nightmare”.

The four-time major winner tees off in round two today at 3.10pm (BST) and will be hoping to make the cut.

“If I can put the ball in the fairway I can shoot a good enough score to be around for the weekend,” he said.

“Obviously I’m pretty sure anyone starting with a 79 in this golf tournament doesn’t think about winning at this point.

“But I think I can go out there and shoot something in the mid-60s, be around for the weekend, and then try to play good from there.”