\u201cAs much as I came here at the start of the week saying I wanted to do it for me, you know, by the end of the round there today I was doing it just as much for them as I was for me,\u201d McIlroy said after his cut-line charge came up short at the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush. \u201cI wanted to be here for the weekend. Selfishly, I wanted to feel that support for two more days. To play in front of those crowds today and to feel that momentum and really dig in, it\u2019s going to be a tough one to get over.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a pressure that can overwhelm because you want it not just for yourself, but you feel how much it would mean to millions you\u2019ve never met. It\u2019s a pressure British athletes know well.<\/p>\n
At the 2012 Wimbledon final, Andy Murray became overcome with emotion<\/a> after losing to Roger Federer. Murray, who was trying to become the first male tennis player from the U.K. to win a grand slam title since 1936, broke down in his post-match speech, with the importance of his near-miss still weighing on him. After congratulating Federer and thanking his family and team, Murray turned to the Wimbledon crowd that had been trying to will him to history for two weeks. <\/p>\n \u201cEverybody always talks about the pressure of playing at Wimbeldon,\u201d Murray said through tears. \u201cHow tough it is. But it\u2019s not the people watching. They make it so much easier to play. The support has been incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n When Murray finally broke through a few months later at the 2012 U.S. Open, he opened up on the pressure of trying to win for everyone in the U.K. and how he felt it in the most consequential moment of his career to date.<\/p>\n \u201cYou try not to think about it much when you\u2019re playing,\u201d Murray said after breaking the drought. \u201cBut like I said, when I was serving for the match, it\u2019s something that, you know, I realised how important that moment was, and, you know, for British tennis or British sport.\u201d<\/p>\n Wayne Rooney carried the weight of English soccer\u2019s World Cup hopes for almost two decades. As England\u2019s biggest soccer star, Rooney knew that whether or not the Three Lions brought home their first World Cup title since 1966 would fall on his shoulders. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d go into tournaments thinking if England are to win this tournament it\u2019s because I\u2019ve won them it,\u201d Rooney said in a documentary about his career<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cThat was a lot of pressure for me to deal with,\u201d Rooney said. \u201cI tried to hide it a lot throughout the years and tried to take that pressure off my teammates, almost to not show that, but deep down, that\u2019s what was always in my head. \u201cI was always thinking, so I think a lot of the times you see mistakes on the pitch or like a red card, whatever, bad performance, that\u2019s probably from me just holding everything in and trying to do too much at times.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Hard to take\u2019: Shane Lowry rules controversy sparks confusion at Open Championship<\/a> That brings us to Matt Fitzpatrick, who, after opening the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush<\/a> with rounds of 67 and 66, will enter the weekend one shot back of World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, looking to become the first Englishman to win the Open Championship since Nick Faldo in 1992. <\/p>\n
\n ![\"zoomed](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/shane2.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n By:<\/p>\n
\n Alan Bastable <\/a><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/03-19-24-HOSTING-FNIC-004.mp4.03_09_11_21.Still001-1.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n