Graeme McDowell says it's a "proud moment" to see his hometown of Portrush host the Open for the first time in 68 years.
The 2010 US Open champion sealed his place at the final major of the year by placing in the top-10 at the Canadian Open last month and he says there's a carnival atmosphere in Portrush this week.
"You get more of an idea of the size and infrastructure that goes with this tournament when you see it happening in your home town.
"I've never seen the town look so great and the buzz from the people the last few days has been incredible. It felt like there were 10,000 people around the first tee yesterday and I felt nervous on a Tuesday."
"I'm trying to picture the crowd as a Ryder Cup crowd, using it positively rather than negatively," McDowell said at this afternoon's pre-tournament press conference.
"Regards the legacy, it's amazing. The spin offs and looking at Portrush, letting everything filter out from here, the town can go from strength to strength economically. The knock-on effect in all of Ireland can be huge.
"If we can get the Open back in the near future, the spin-offs for golf in Ireland is huge. As a tourist destination and a nation that becomes synonymous with the game.
"Golf is extremely accessible so it can only be a massive positive. I'm very proud of what it's going to do for this town and the area.
"This should really put Portrush on the global stage, on the map, and look amazing on TV."
McDowell admits he was feeling down on his luck last year.
"My journey has been about facing the demons of mortality. This is not going to be around forever. When you were top 20 in the game, it felt easy. Then you slide out and you're battling to get back into the big events. You're missing cuts and wondering what happened. You realise if you continue then golf's going to disappear quickly.
"I had a little bit of credit built up with tournaments as 2010 US Open champion and some invitations and favours to call in this year but they won't be around forever either.
"It was staring that in the focus and refocus. You're going to have to work hard, be patient, it's going to hurt but if you stay patient, good stuff will happen again and thankfully it will.
"Going down to the Dominican Republic the same week as the World Matchplay, the old me would have said I should be at the WGC but I ended up winning and got myself close to back to where I want to be.
"Every player has these conversations. I've always been real and honest."
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