Joyous scenes at McIlroy's hometown club after members endure night of drama
Five hours of unbearable sporting agony gave way to scenes of unbridled joy as crowds at Rory McIlroy's home club in Co Down celebrated his dramatic Masters victory.
After a night when members at Holywood Golf Club endured an emotional rollercoaster like no other, the clubhouse erupted as the local hero sank his birdie putt at the first play-off hole at Augusta National to finally capture a long sought green jacket and enter golfing immortality as a winner of the career grand slam of major titles.
There were tears and cheers as club stalwarts embraced, while junior members who dream of emulating their hometown hero chanted McIlroy's name.
The celebrations were a marked contrast to the sombre mood inside the club earlier in the night during the agonising moments of McIlroy's final round when he looked to have blown his chances of glory.
Club captain Trevor Heaven said he had a feeling that 2025 was going to be McIlroy's year.
'We're so proud – this is immense for Holywood Golf Club,' he said.
'When I took on the captain role I got my green jacket, and I always said, 'if I get my green jacket, Rory will come after me'.'
Former lady captain Paula Denvir said she kept faith that Holywood's most famous son would prevail in the end.
'It was so well deserved and we're all just so proud, we're just so made up for him,' she said.
'He just deserved this so much. There were tears of joy all over the place tonight and there was stunned silence too. Everybody is in bits. We're so delighted for him. It was brilliant.
'I'd every confidence in him, I don't know what it was about this year, I just thought 'he'll do this, this was it'. And I'm really glad he proved me right. I'm so delighted.
'For Holywood this is unbelievable. He's always been there, he's always been an ambassador, he's always been a supporter of the club. He has supported everything, he's supported charities, my charity last year – The Friends of the Cancer Centre.
'He's just an unbelievable ambassador for everywhere – for Holywood, for Northern Ireland, for Ireland, just across the board. And everybody should be just so proud.'
Mrs Denvir's husband Tony is the club president at Holywood.
She joked that, unlike her, he had the foresight to book a day off on Monday in anticipation of a draining Sunday night.
'It's incredible,' said Mrs Denvir.
'It's hard to put into words to be quite honest with you, and it's such a great achievement. Yeah, it's taken a wee while to do it. We all thought he was going to do it many years ago. It's taken a wee while, but he's got there in the end.
'And it's just absolutely unbelievable. For the whole country and for the game of golf in Northern Ireland – it's just fantastic.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Three killer holes at Oakmont including one that cost Tiger Woods a US Open as Rory McIlroy and Co face savage test
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) WELCOME to the torture chamber hosting the world's top stars for the next four days, as the US Open comes to Oakmont for a record tenth time. Some holes are as notorious as the players are famous, with hot favourite Scottie Scheffler calling it 'probably the hardest golf course that we'll play - maybe ever". 11 English ace Justin Rose gets down to business in practice Credit: Alamy 11 Scottie Scheffler is the favourite after three wins in four tournaments Credit: Alamy 11 Bryson DeChambeau asked for patience as he signed autographs Credit: Reuters 11 It's three and far from easy for players at Oakmont this week Back in 2007 legend Tiger Woods took one look at the notorious Church Pew bunker that splits the third and fourth fairways - a 100 yard long stretch of sand featuring 12 three foot high grass ridges - and decided he wanted nothing to do with it. However, reigning champion Bryson DeChambeau will hope to find big-hitting answers. And world no.2 Rory McIlroy aims to build on his maiden Masters triumph. But here's a look at three of the toughest holes any golfer could face - plus the verdict of players on the ominous Oakmont course. Hole 3 (par 4 - 462 yards) THIS difficult par-four provides the first sight of the massive Church Pews bunker down the left-hand side of the fairway. And if you steer too far wide of it, there is a row of deep bunkers down the right waiting to gobble up balls. Rated as one of the toughest holes on the course — just ask Tiger Woods. He made his only double-bogey here in 2007 and ended up finishing one shot behind eventual winner Angel Cabrera. 11 DeChambeau hailed his US Open glory at Pinehurst last year Credit: AP 11 Tiger Woods famously found trouble at Oakmont in 2007 Credit: Getty BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK Hole 4 (par 5 - 611 yards) ONE of only two par-fives and considered a must-birdie hole as it is shorter than the 12th — which can play anything from 632 to 684 yards. Church Pews bunker is in play down the left. Going for the green in two means taking on a long, blind shot. DeChambeau and Rose's response to how club golfers would cope at Oakmont US Open course Hole 8 (par 3 - 289 yards) THIS is where The Beast — as Oakmont is known — really shows its teeth. It usually plays into the wind, so most will have to reach for the driver. Johnny Miller made his only bogey when he shot a course-record 63 on his way to the 1973 US Open here. He said it felt like a par! Scheffler's "hardest ever" verdict on the course is more than matched by the assessment of fellow superstar players. Double UPSGA champ Justin Thomas says 'you can look stupid pretty fast' at the US Open venue, and reckons it will 'psyche a lot of guys out before they hit a shot'. But another double Major winner, Xander Schauffele - regarded as a robot at churning out great US rounds after finishing inside the top 15 in all eight attempts - confessed: 'Maybe I'm just sick to enjoy the challenge." 11 DeChambeau watches his practice putt on the 14th green Credit: Getty 11 Scheffler putts on the same hole on the tournament eve Credit: Shutterstock Editorial But is all the talk about this 7,531 yards par 70 being the toughest course on the planet justified? In the words of Dustin Johnson, who won here in 2016: 'Hell, yeah!' Johnson finished four under par nine years ago, on a course playing much easier than usual, because so much rain fell it was nicknamed 'Soakmont'. But only three other players in the 156 man field finished below par - all on one under - and 14 of the 18 holes played above par. Eight of them featured in the top fifty hardest holes among the 990 used on the PGA Tour that year. That did not compare to what happened at the previous US Open at Oakmont, in 2007. That year all EIGHTEEN holes played over par. Angel Cabrera won at five over, a shot clear of Jim Furyk and Woods, who felt he played great that week. Meanwhile, Woods' Pew peril led to caddie Steve Williams suggesting he should throw a few balls in there so Woods could practice escaping from the trap. Woods shook his head and replied: "No way. I don't practice negativity. I'm just going to avoid it. I'll hit away from it every day." The hole that strikes most terror in competitors' hearts is the 289 yards par three eighth, which is likely to be pushed back beyond 300 yards at least once this week. He did, but still only managed to break par once on his way to runners-up spot. But the hole that strikes most terror into the hearts of the competitors is the fearsome 289 yards par three eighth, which is likely to be pushed back beyond the 300 yards mark at least once this week. World No 4 Collin Morikawa did not realise it was a par three the first time he played it in practice. He explained: 'I completely forgot that that was the long par three, and I honestly asked Joe, my caddie, and everyone in the group, do you go for this par four or do you lay up? 'Now that I know it's a par three, I recommend going for it! I'll probably hit driver or three wood and hopefully hit the green. If not, make up-and-down. 'Honestly. it's a hole I'll take four pars right now, and walk away.' Schauffele reckons some players will have bruised egos about using a driver on a par three, but said they had to 'suck it up' to give themselves the best chance of making par. And he reckons TV viewers will love the carnage they are likely to witness over the next few days. He explained: 'I don't think people turn the TV on this week to watch some of the guys just hit like a 200 yard shot onto the green, you know what I mean? 'I think they turn on the U.S. Open to see a guy shooting eight over, and watch him suffer. That's part of the enjoyment of the U.S. Open for viewers. 'My attitude is that you have to stay as calm as possible because we're all going to struggle at times. Maybe that's why I've done so well in this tournament. 11 Sam Burns is a figure of focus as he practices Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 'I think I look pretty level-headed when I play, but internally I might be absolutely just thrashing myself. That happens to me more than you might think. 'I think truly having a good attitude is accepting what just happened, and allowing yourself to be pretty much at zero to hit the next shot.' Thomas believes most of the field will not be able to handle the setbacks as well as the top players. He said: 'Being perfectly honest, and very selfish, I hope it psyches a lot of players out. This course requires tons of patience and discipline, and not everyone can get a handle on that. 'Above all else, Oakmont tests the mental aspect of your game. But with tight fairways, deep rough, difficult bunkers and lightning fast greens it also tests you to the limit technically too. 'If you just get lazy - like on any drive, any wedge shot, any chip, any putt - you can look stupid pretty fast. 'But I understand this place is hard. I don't need to read articles, or I don't need to hear horror stories. I've played it. I know it's difficult." So sit back and enjoy the ride. It is going to be a bumpy one. 11 Collin Morikawa took a snap of Gary Woodland's club Credit: Reuters
Belfast Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Rory McIlroy's attitude concerns me ahead of U.S. Open bid, admits Paul McGinley
McIlroy is looking to claim his second Major win of the year at Oakmont having already won the Masters at Augusta in April, however he has had his fair share of struggles in recent weeks. The World No.2 was outraged that his name was leaked after failing a driver compliance test at the US PGA Championship last month, refusing to talk to the media in the aftermath, and he missed the cut at the Canadian Open last week after struggling off the tee in a second round 78. As well as that, McIlroy has admitted to suffering from a lack of motivation in the aftermath of the monumental effort it took to complete the Career Grand Slam, his Masters victory meaning he has now won all four Major titles. As a result, along with the resurgence of World No.1 and US PGA champion Scottie Scheffler, the 35-year-old has fallen down the list of favourites to win this week in Pennsylvania and, after his Tuesday media briefing, McGinley shared his concerns. 'You'd have to say it was very worrying looking at his press conference there. His eyes weren't alive. The energy was not there,' said the Irishman on Sky Sports. 'He certainly didn't have the pointy elbows the way we saw coming into the Masters. (At the Masters) he was a man on a mission, he was a man on a bounce, he was a man out to prove something. 'Get out of my way, here I come.' You could see that and feel the energy. 'You don't see it at the moment. I know from my own experience, when you win tournaments, you check out. You don't feel the same. You want to be there and you put in the energy but something inside you is just missing. 'It takes some time for that to reset and I think he's going through a period of that. He's completed a Grand Slam – it's a huge achievement. 'I'm no psychologist but it looks like the air has been sucked out of him a little since that, not just in the way he's played but in his press conferences. It's very un-Rory-like to have such low energy. This is not normal Rory. 'This is not when he's at his best in my opinion. I think he's at his best when he's p****d off or following off a big loss or something that went wrong.'
The Herald Scotland
5 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
No hiding place as Oakmont provides stern US Open test
Footage of golfers emerging from the withering embrace of Oakmont's notoriously deep, ruthless rough over the past couple of days has been broadly equivalent to watching pit ponies blinking and gasping into the daylight after an exhausting shift down the mines. 'Last Monday felt impossible,' observed the Masters champion, Rory McIlroy, as he reflected on a reconnaissance mission to Oakmont last week. 'I birdied the last two holes for 81. It felt pretty good.' The greens, meanwhile, tend to be so quick it can be a bit like putting on the back of a soup spoon. The stimpmeter, that simple contraption used for measuring green speeds, was devised back in 1935 after its inventor, Edward S Stimpson, watched the great Gene Sarazen putt a ball off the green during that year's US Open. And yes, you've guessed it, Oakmont was the venue. Sarazen himself had his own views on this mighty Pennsylvanian track. 'Oakmont possesses all the charm of a sock to the head,' he said. Keeping the heid while others are losing theirs will be a valuable attribute this week. Oakmont's course designer, Henry Clay Fowles, certainly wanted to create a fearsome stretch of golfing terrain. And he did. "Let the clumsy, the spineless, the alibi artists stand aside, a poor shot should be a shot irrevocably lost," he stated. It sounds like he'd watched play unfold at the Association of Golf Writers' spring meeting. Back in 2007, Angel Cabrera won the US Open at Oakmont with a five-over aggregate. Almost a decade later, in 2016, Dustin Johnston triumphed with a hard-earned four-under total. That was the year a young Scottie Scheffler made his major debut as an amateur. He narrowly missed the cut. Here in 2025, the 28-year-old is the dominant force in men's golf. 'That was a tough pill to swallow, missing the cut by one,' reflected the world No 1. 'But I played a practice round with Dustin and Brooks (Koepka) and I felt like I learned a lot from those guys at the time. It definitely made me excited to get out here (on tour) for real.' With all its abundant challenges and hazards – there are 175 bunkers in total with the sprawling sandy expanse of the Church Pews its most famous trap – there's no let-up in the remorseless Oakmont examination. The eighth hole, for instance, is a par-3 that is set to be the longest in major history. 'I promise you we'll play it at 301 (yards) this year,' said John Bodenhamer, the USGA chief championships officer, with ghoulish glee. 'I'm going to try to hit the green, whether it's a 3-wood or driver from that back tee,' said Scheffler of his own approach. 'Depends on wind direction but basically just going to try to get the ball on the green and two-putt.' Damage limitation could be a watchword over the next few days. Jack Nicklaus, who won the first of his 18 majors at Oakmont in the 1962 US Open, recently suggested that the eighth hole was 'crazy.' He did add, with a wry chortle, that, '"I haven't played it since they lengthened it to be a short par five.' Beasts, of course, can be tamed. Readers of a certain vintage will recall Johnny Miller's barnstorming final round of 63 at Oakmont in 1973 which gave him the US Open title. The only shot he leaked in that rousing charge was at the eighth. A few could be leaked there too this week. 'This is probably the hardest golf course that we'll play, maybe ever, and that's pretty much all it is,' added Scheffler of the general set up. A US Open, by nature, tends to be the kind of attritional battle that should feature barbed wire, mortar rounds and trenches. 'You're always aware of what a golf tournament here is going to be like,' said Jon Rahm, the 2021 US Open champion. 'A lot of unfortunate things are going to happen. It's hard fairways to hit, bad lies, difficult bunkers, difficult greens. It's going to be a nice test, a difficult test. And I think one of the truest representations of what a US Open is all about.' Let battle commence.
