PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (AP) — Scottie Scheffler was walking down the first fairway at Royal Portrush when a shout came from outside the ropes: “Go Rory!”
They were all over the Dunluce Links again Sunday, those passionate supporters of Rory McIlroy cheering on their favorite son in the final act of his homecoming — whether they were watching him or not.
The big disappointment for McIlroy was that he couldn’t deliver what they craved.
“It’s been an awesome week,” McIlroy said after shooting 2-under 69 to tie for seventh at the British Open. “I’ve gotten everything I wanted out of this week apart from a claret jug, and that’s just because one person was just a little bit better than the rest of us.”
That might be an understatement.
Scheffler, the world No. 1, won by four shots to capture his fourth major title. He was seven strokes clear of McIlroy and playing on a different level in this pretty corner of Northern Ireland.
McIlroy even acknowledged as much.
“He’s an incredible player,” he said of Scheffler. “He’s been dominant this week. Honestly, he’s been dominant for the last couple years. He is the bar that we’re all trying to get to.”
As for Scheffler, he could only apologize for spoiling the McIlroy party.
“I know I wasn’t the fan favorite today,” he said, grinning, in his post-round speech on No. 18, “but I did hear a lot of USA and Dallas, Texas chants.”
Scheffler might have won two majors this year and asserted himself as the game’s dominant player. Yet, for many, 2025 still belongs to McIlroy after his dramatic win at the Masters in April to complete the career Grand Slam.
Fans came in droves this week to celebrate McIlroy’s achievements, and produced some of the loudest roars he has ever heard on a golf course.
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.
When the Open returned to Portrush in 2019 for the first time in 68 years, McIlroy was so emotional he hit his opening drive out-of-bounds, shot 79 and missed the cut.
He made amends six years later.
“I feel so thankful and just so lucky that I get to do this in front of this crowd,” McIlroy said. “Hopefully I’ll have one or two Opens left here, if the R&A decide to keep coming back — probably one while I’m still competitive and another one while I’m more gray than I already am.”
McIlroy started Sunday six strokes back from Scheffler after a wild third-round 66, and needed a minor miracle to catch his big rival.
He got up-and-down for birdie at the par-5 second hole but couldn’t make a fast enough start. A bogey at No. 4, after missing the green with his approach, was a mistake he couldn’t afford and he suddenly was eight shots adrift of Scheffler, who played as steady as ever.
A double at No. 10 ended his hopes.
McIlroy couldn’t reproduce his Saturday charge but at least played all four days this time.
“I tried as best as I could to keep my emotions in check, especially walking up the last there and that reception,” McIlroy said.
“It’s just been incredible to come back here and to play and at least feel like I had a chance today going out there. Just an awesome week.”
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland acknowledges the crowd as he walks onto the 18th green during the final round of the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland, Sunday, July 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays out of the rough on the 17th hole during the final round of the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland, Sunday, July 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland acknowledges the crowd as he walks onto the 18th green during the final round of the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland, Sunday, July 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is meeting with oil executives at the White House on Friday in hopes of securing $100 billion in investments to revive Venezuela’s ability to fully tap into its expansive reserves of petroleum — a plan that rides on their comfort in making commitments in a country plagued by instability, inflation and uncertainty.
Since the U.S. military raid to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Trump has quickly pivoted to portraying the move as a newfound economic opportunity for the U.S., seizing tankers carrying Venezuelan oil, saying the U.S. is taking over the sales of 30 million to 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned Venezuelan oil and will be controlling sales worldwide indefinitely.
On Friday, U.S. forces seized their fifth tanker over the past month that has been linked to Venezuelan oil. The action reflected the determination of the U.S. to fully control the exporting, refining and production of Venezuelan petroleum, a sign of the Trump administration's plans for ongoing involvement in the sector as it seeks commitments from private companies.
It's all part of a broader push by Trump to keep gasoline prices low. At a time when many Americans are concerned about affordability, the incursion in Venezuela melds Trump’s assertive use of presidential powers with an optical spectacle meant to convince Americans that he can bring down energy prices.
The meeting, set for 2:30 p.m. EST, will be open to the news media, according to an update to the president's daily schedule. “At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House,” Trump said Friday in a pre-dawn social media post.
Trump is set to meet with executives from 17 oil companies, according to the White House. Among the companies attending are Chevron, which still operates in Venezuela, and ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, which both had oil projects in the country that were lost as part of a 2007 nationalization of private businesses under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez.
The president is meeting with a wide swath of domestic and international companies with interests ranging from construction to the commodity markets. Other companies slated to be at the meeting include Halliburton, Valero, Marathon, Shell, Singapore-based Trafigura, Italy-based Eni and Spain-based Repsol.
Large U.S. oil companies have so far largely refrained from affirming investments in Venezuela as contracts and guarantees need to be in place. Trump has suggested on social media that America would help to backstop any investments.
Venezuela’s oil production has slumped below one million barrels a day. Part of Trump's challenge to turn that around will be to convince oil companies that his administration has a stable relationship with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez, as well as protections for companies entering the market.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are slated to attend the oil executives meeting, according to the White House.
Meanwhile, the United States and Venezuelan governments said Friday they were exploring the possibility of r estoring diplomatic relations between the two countries, and that a delegation from the Trump administration arrived to the South American nation on Friday.
The small team of U.S. diplomats and diplomatic security officials traveled to Venezuela to make a preliminary assessment about the potential re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, the State Department said in a statement.
Trump also announced on Friday he’d meet with President Gustavo Petro in early February, but called on the Colombian leader to make quick progress on stemming flow of cocaine into the U.S.
Trump, following the ouster of Maduro, had made vague threats to take similar action against Petro. Trump abruptly changed his tone Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart after a friendly phone call in which he invited Petro to visit the White House.
President Donald Trump waves as he walks off stage after speaking to House Republican lawmakers during their annual policy retreat, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
