
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.'

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Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Rory McIlroy is undergoing a post-Masters hangover and the US Open comes at an unfortunate time for him - no course is more vindictive towards absent minds, writes RIATH AL-SAMARRAI
Drivers and drive. Rory McIlroy 's recent struggles in each department have stripped away any sense of bullishness from his outer layer as he embarks on the US Open this week. That he must nurture such difficulties at Oakmont of all places is a case of unfortunate timing. No course is more vindictive towards absent minds and loose tee shots and there is no escaping the reality that the world No 2 is enduring a post-Masters hangover. To sum up why this is a less-than-ideal setting for McIlroy's current situation, consider what he told us on Tuesday about a reconnaissance trip here eight days earlier. 'I birdied the last two holes for 81,' he said. The upside is that the weather in Pittsburgh this week is far more benign than last. The downside is that after his Monday round he then travelled to the Canadian Open and missed the cut by a mile. Having tied for 47th at the PGA Championship in his previous outing, there are grounds to ask what is eating away at a golfer who started the season like a runaway train and whose mood since that Augusta catharsis has been as variable as his driving. The efforts to correct the latter have been complicated. He revealed here that he will play the season's third major with his fourth different driver configuration in the space of a month, after binning the one with which he hit less than half of the fairways in Canada. Given the severe penalties for entering the rough at Oakmont, McIlroy will be hoping for a significant uplift and he has at least offered positive feedback. 'I did a good bit of practice at home and feel like I'm in a better place with everything going into this week,' he said. Asked what he learned, he added: 'That I wasn't using the right driver.' Enquiries to establish which model of TaylorMade weapon he has chosen rebounded off a chippy wall: 'Come out and watch me hit balls, and you'll see.' It should be pointed out that, usually, McIlroy has a strong, respectful relationship with reporters. But such dynamics have been tested a little recently, as shown by his media blackout after it emerged he was forced to change a non-compliant driver prior to the PGA Championship. His unhappiness in the aftermath was directed towards journalists doing their jobs but the more relevant frustration, clearly, was that he had to switch the most effective club in his bag. Scottie Scheffler endured an identical disruption and yet he prevailed to win the tournament, as McIlroy himself pointed out on Tuesday. 'It wasn't a big deal for Scottie, so it shouldn't have been a big deal for me,' he said. It's an interesting time for McIlroy. He has spoken previously about the emotional come-down that accompanied his Masters high and he went further on the theme here, saying: 'Look, you dream about the final putt going in at the Masters, but you don't think about what comes next. 'I think I've always been a player that struggles to play after a big event, after I win whatever tournament. I always struggle to show up with motivation the next. 'I think chasing a certain goal for the better part of a decade and a half, I think I'm allowed a little bit of time to relax a little bit.' No one of sound mind would dispute the latter. 'I think it's trying to have a little bit of amnesia and forget about what happened six weeks ago,' added McIlroy. 'Then it's just trying to find the motivation to go back out there and work as hard as I've been working. 'At some point, you have to realise that there's a little bit more golf left to play this season.' While there have been none of the usual declarations of confidence, it should not be overlooked that McIlroy has not finish outside the top nine in the past six editions of this most idiosyncratic of tournaments, including his heartbreak against Bryson DeChambeau in 2024. US Opens are not for everyone, but McIlroy, the 2011 champion, is far more suited to the test than most. The most challenging of surroundings could also offer the jolt he currently needs.


Reuters
39 minutes ago
- Reuters
Rory McIlroy working to regain form, motivation after savoring Masters triumph
June 10 - Rory McIlroy is making no apologies for savoring the biggest accomplishment of his career, but insists Oakmont Country Club has his full attention this week. Since claiming his first Masters title in dramatic fashion in April, McIlroy's form has fallen off precipitously. After a tie for seventh at the Truist Championship, he tied for 47th at the PGA Championship before missing the cut by 12 shots last week in Canada, where he finished better than only four players. "You dream about the final putt going in at the Masters, but you don't think about what comes next," McIlroy said on Tuesday ahead of this week's U.S. Open outside of Pittsburgh. "I think chasing a certain goal for the better part of a decade and a half, I think I'm allowed a little bit of time to relax a little bit. But here at Oakmont, I certainly can't relax this week." McIlroy missed the cut by two shots the last time the U.S. Open was contested at Oakmont in 2016, carding a 77 and a 71 to finish 8 over. "Don't really remember much about 2016. I think I just tried to erase it from the memory bank," he joked. McIlroy called Oakmont "a big brute of a golf course" that will test every club in the bag. The club with the biggest question in McIlroy's bag has been his driver. After driving it "OK" in his words at Augusta, McIlroy struggled mightily off the tee at the PGA Championship after having to make a switch after his driver failed a pre-tournament inspection. Despite missing the cut in Canada, McIlroy said he has made progress with a new driver while playing at home and during Tuesday's practice round. "Hopefully I can hit a few more fairways than I have been hitting and give myself some opportunities," he said. "It's very penal if you miss. Sometimes it's penal if you don't miss. "But the person with the most patience and the best attitude this week is the one that's going to win." With his Masters victory, McIlroy accomplished the career Grand Slam at 36 years old. His lone U.S. Open victory came 14 years ago at Congressional. The Northern Irishman was asked the biggest challenge he's facing as he attempts to reset from the high of Augusta. "I think it's trying to have a little bit of amnesia and forget about what happened six weeks ago. Then just trying to find the motivation to go back out there and work as hard as I've been working," he said. "At some point, you have to realize that there's a little bit more golf left to play this season, here, (the Open Championship at) Portrush, Ryder Cup. So, those are obviously the three big things that I'm sort of looking at for the rest of the year. "But I think weeks like (the PGA at) Quail Hollow or even weeks like last week, it makes it easier to reset in some way, to be like, OK, I sort of need to get my stuff together here and get back to the process." Many speculated that finally claiming his first Masters would free McIlroy to reel off several more majors. But even if that doesn't happen this week -- or ever again -- McIlroy plans to enjoy this stage of his life. One that includes playing more tennis with friends on the road, less concerned about suffering an injury that impacts his golf game, and traveling the world with his daughter, Poppy. "I worked incredibly hard on my game from October last year all the way up until April this year. It was nice to sort of see the fruits of my labor come to fruition and have everything happen," McIlroy said. "But at the same time, you have to enjoy that. You have to enjoy what you've just accomplished. I certainly feel like I'm still doing that and I will continue to do that." --Field Level Media


Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
I need to get my stuff together – Rory McIlroy out to end Masters hangover
The world number two completed an 11-year quest to win all four majors when he triumphed at Augusta National in April but his form has suffered since. He tied for 47th at the PGA Championship last month, where he suffered drama when his driver was found to be non-conforming, while he missed the cut at the Canadian Open last week as his struggles off the tee continued. The Northern Irishman has cut himself some slack given his monumental achievement at the Masters. However, ahead of the US Open at unforgiving Oakmont this week, he knows he has to get his head back in the game. Asked if he knew how tough it would be to regain his motivation, he said: 'I didn't know. Look, you dream about the final putt going in at the Masters, but you don't think about what comes next. 'I think I've always been a player who struggles to play after a big event, after I win whatever tournament. 'I always struggle to show up with motivation the next week because you've just accomplished something and you want to enjoy it and you want to sort of relish the fact that you've achieved a goal. 'I think chasing a certain goal for the better part of a decade and a half, I think I'm allowed a little bit of time to relax a little bit. An Irish stroll around Oakmont. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 10, 2025 'I think it's trying to have a little bit of amnesia and forget about what happened six weeks ago. Then just trying to find the motivation to go back out there and work as hard as I've been working. 'But at the same time, you have to enjoy what you've just accomplished. I certainly feel like I'm still doing that and I will continue to do that. 'At some point, you have to realise that there's a little bit more golf left to play this season: here, Portrush (the Open), Ryder Cup, so those are obviously the three big things that I'm sort of looking at for the rest of the year. 'I sort of need to get my stuff together here and get back to the process of what I'd been doing for that seven months from October last year until April this year.' McIlroy is trying to overcome driver issues (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP) After missing the cut in Toronto last week, McIlroy said he had 'concerns' about his driving coming into a tournament where hitting the fairways will be key to success. The 2011 US Open champion, who has finished second in the tournament in each of the last two years, spent the weekend practising with a new driver and says he is feeling more confident. 'I feel like, as the last few weeks go, I think I learnt a lot on Thursday and Friday last week and did a good bit of practice at home and feel like I'm in a better place with everything going into this week,' he said. Asked what information he had gleaned, he quipped: 'I learned that I wasn't using the right driver.'