PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Two days after the eye-opening, deep-thinking riff on the meaning of life that world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler delivered in his pre-tournament press conference, he posted a 3-under-par 68 in the first round of the British Open on Thursday at Portrush. 

That left the uber-consistent Scheffler one shot off the lead — shared by Matt Fitzpatrick, Jacob Skov Olesen, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Hoatong Li and Harris English. 

After his round, Scheffler was playfully chided by a reporter about his ability to shoot under par despite his lack of hitting fairways — he hit just 3 of 14 for the round.

“Yeah, you’re the second guy that’s mentioned that to me,’’ Scheffler said teasingly. “I actually thought I drove it pretty good. I don’t know what you guys are seeing. When it’s raining sideways, it’s actually, believe it or not, not that easy to get the ball in the fairway. Thank you, guys, all for pointing that out. 

“At 3-under par, I felt like I hit the ball nice off the tee. I felt like I hit a lot of good tee shots, hit the ball really solid, so definitely a good bit of confidence for the next couple rounds.’’ 

One player whose confidence may also be buoyed entering Friday’s second round is No. 2-ranked Rory McIlroy. 

McIlroy famously flamed out at the 2019 Open at Portrush — which is a home game for him, having grown up 60 miles away.

His tournament began back then with his first tee shot out of bounds en route to a 79 and a missed cut the next day. 

Thursday, with heavy anticipation and huge crowd support, McIlroy kept his first tee shot inbounds, though in the left rough. 

He surged to 3-under at the turn before faltering a little on the back nine to get in with a 1-under 70, a relative victory for him considering he, like Scheffler, hit just 3 of 14 fairways.

Clearly without his best stuff, McIlroy escaped the day trailing by just three shots. 

“It was a tough enough day, especially either chopping out of the rough or out of the fairway bunkers most of the time, so to shoot under par was a good effort,’’ McIlroy said. “I had it going 3-under through 10 and let a few slip there around the middle of the round. I steadied the ship well. Only three back with 54 holes to go, I’m really happy with where I am.’’ 

McIlroy called the support from the Irish fans “absolutely incredible.’’

“I feel the support of an entire country out there, which is a wonderful position to be in, but at the same time, you don’t want to let them down,’’ he said. “So, there’s that little bit of added pressure. I felt like I dealt with it really well today. Certainly, I dealt with it better than I did six years ago.’’ 

The first tee shot out of bounds six years ago has stayed with McIlroy since the moment he stepped to the tee Thursday afternoon. 

“I knew what to expect,’’ he said. “It wasn’t new to me. I didn’t feel like I was walking into the unknown this time around, where last time I hadn’t experienced that before. I hadn’t played an Open at home. I didn’t know how I was going to feel. I didn’t know the reaction I was going to get, where this time I had a better idea of what was going to be coming my way. 

“I was just happy to get off to a good start and get myself into the tournament.’’ 

So, too, was Scheffler, who’s seeking his second major championship victory this year to go along with the PGA in May.

He was asked after the round about the comments he made Tuesday about how golf — even in victory — doesn’t “fulfill’’ his life and that he sometimes, even after winning majors, asks himself, “What’s the point?’’ 

“I try to be as honest as I can with y’all, with the stuff that I’m willing to kind of say,’’ Scheffler said. “At times, I feel like maybe I should be a little less honest. Maybe I shouldn’t have said the stuff I said, because now I’m going to get asked about it more. 

“But really, it’s just a matter of perspective, and I’ve had some players come up to me and say that they feel and think the same things. If anybody has disagreed with me, they haven’t said it to my face yet, so I don’t know what the reaction would be. But overall, I’m just glad to be out playing golf and competing again.’’ 

Shane Lowry, who won the Open the last time it was played at Portrush, was one of Scheffler’s two playing partners, along with 2021 Open winner Collin Morikawa. 

Lowry, as many do, marveled at Scheffler’s game and demeanor. 

“We had a good day out there,’’ Lowry said after shooting a 1-under 70. “I feel like he’s a nice person to be around and, obviously, a great player. It’s unbelievable how well he manages his way around the golf course and the scores he shoots. It’s just incredible what he does with the ball. Even when you look at him and it looks like he’s hitting a bad shot, it doesn’t go in a bad spot.’’