PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland -- After dropping his final putt of the second round of the 148th Open Championship on Friday, Rory McIlroy took off his hat and waved it in the air, as the enormous gallery surrounding the 18th green at Royal Portrush Golf Club gave him a standing ovation.
It was a moment McIlroy had dreamed about for much of his life.
"I'm trying not to imagine what it was going to be like on a Sunday," McIlroy said. "It's a moment I have envisioned for the last few years, it just happened two days early.