Rory McIlroy is once again looking to leave his opponents on the golf course frustrated like Jason Day was at the Masters . The Northern Irishman is gunning for his sixth major title and second Open Championship on home soil at Royal Portrush, with 2015 PGA Championship victor Day vying to end his decade-long drought. The two seasoned golfers, both nearly two decades into their professional careers, are no strangers to each other's games. Day has often found himself in McIlroy 's shadow, including a second-place finish behind him at the 2011 US Open in one of four major runner-up heartbreaks for the Aussie. Day, trailing by seven shots before the final round at Augusta in April, couldn't hide his frustration . "[You] can't do anything. You want to go over there and break every club in his bag, but that's just not going to work," he vented. "He's clearly playing some good golf, so you've got to do the best job you can. I've been on the receiving end of a couple of those where he's run away with it a little bit, Congressional when I finished second there and he beat me by eight." Day's admission that even resorting to sabotage wouldn't dent McIlroy's armour highlights the level of respect – and perhaps a touch of resignation – that rivals feel towards him. Despite this, McIlroy hasn't had an easy ride since his Masters victory earlier in the year. McIlroy has been striving to find his rhythm after a dry spell, despite notching up three victories earlier in the season. He's shown signs of resurgence with back-to-back top 10s at the Travelers Championship and the Scottish Open before heading to Portrush. Day recognises that form is temporary and class is permanent, giving McIlroy the ultimate praise earlier this year. He insisted: "I mean, he's the best player of our generation for sure. "He just makes things look so easy. You look at his score today, he was, what, 4-under-ish through three holes, and then kind of faulted and then all of a sudden he makes three on the trot. It's not easy out there. "It's very difficult out there. There's a little bit of wind. The wind is moving around a little bit. The greens are starting to firm up and they're getting a little bit quicker. "But he's explosive enough to be able to do that. There's not many guys on this planet that are able to do something like that. That's what's impressive about him. "Yeah, he's got two holes left, obviously, and we'll see where we're at at the end of the day and then try and focus on tomorrow and see how it goes." Day is looking for his first PGA Tour victory in over two years, with his last coming at the Byron Nelson in May 2023. He endured a challenging opening round at Portrush which saw him finish two over on Thursday.