Rory McIlroy's hometown is buzzing with his Holywood ending
Welcome to Holywood.The town in County Down has always been proud of local boy Rory McIlroy but it has reached a whole new level after his dramatic win on Sunday.He finally joined a select club of just six golfers to achieve the career Grand Slam with victory in the Masters. The boy from Holywood received his Hollywood ending, and the town is buzzing.
It may be a grey Monday in Holywood but the faces of sleep-deprived golf fans light up when they are asked about the rollercoaster scenes at Augusta.John Reynolds, who lives in Holywood, said he was absolutely delighted that McIlroy "managed to finally get over the line".He watched every minute of the final day on Sunday."It was tortuous, it was not what we all expected. We were hoping for a triumphant run through the last round," he said.He said the win was massive for the town, and McIlroy's "golfing immortality" was a good reflection on Holywood.
David Addis, who also lives in Holywood, was travelling on Sunday so he was listening on the radio as the "rollercoaster" unfolded."It's the first time I've listened to a major sporting event as it evolved and because the journey was broken by a flight my understanding of it was interrupted for a full 55 minutes while it was swinging all over the place," he said.Mr Addis said he was elated with the result and people were "buzzing" in Holywood."I always thought he had a chance but after the near misses and especially when he kicked off the final day with a double bogey I thought, oh goodness it's going to happen again, but he obviously is a lot more resilient now," he added.
Holywood is a coastal town, not far from Belfast. It has a beach, a busy High Street and some pricey properties.Every time McIlroy wins a major, one of the bakeries makes biscuits with his face on them and they were on the shelves early on Monday morning.
TV and film writer Declan Lawn was on his way to edit the latest series of Blue Lights in Holywood when he bumped into BBC News NI. He stayed up "into the wee hours" to watch McIlroy."It was worth every second," he said. "It's one of the greatest sporting stories ever in history. "He was fighting his demons, and fighting the past and fighting himself and he didn't do it perfectly. He had to find courage to come back and he did. It's such a human story, a Hollywood ending."
Fellow Northern Irish sporting hero Lady Mary Peters said she was absolutely overjoyed at McIlroy's success."He has been so close in the past and didn't quite make it but this was his right time to do it," she said.Lady Peters was the 1972 Olympic champion in the pentathlon. "It changes your life forever, the world is his oyster now," she said.
Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, Gavin Robinson, said McIlroy had "never forgotten where he has come from.""It is a wonderful achievement for him," he said. "To be able to fulfil that dream is beyond all of our wildest expectations."
McIlroy was schooled in Holywood - he first attended St Patrick's Primary School before moving on to Sullivan Upper School. His passion for the sport grew from his father, a keen golfer, who took him to the golf course in his pram.McIlroy's local course, Holywood Golf Club, is on the slopes of the Holywood hills.McIlroy turned professional in 2007 and won his first major in 2011 at the US Open, and in 2012 he won the PGA Championship in 2012.He then won The Open in 2014. leaving the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
‘That's destiny': Carlos Alcaraz matches mind-blowing Rafael Nadal grand slam stat
Carlos Alcaraz believes the fact he and Spanish idol Rafael Nadal were both exactly the same age when they won their fifth grand slam title is 'destiny'. Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner in one of the greatest ever grand slam finals to win his second French Open, winning the title aged 22 years, one month and three days. It is exactly the same age Nadal was when the Spaniard won his fifth grand slam by defeating Roger Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon final, another of the sport's greatest ever matches. 'Honestly the coincidence of winning my fifth grand slam in the same age as Rafa Nadal, I'm going to say that's destiny, I guess,' Alcaraz said. 'I mean, it is a stat that I'm going to keep for me forever, winning the fifth grand slam at the same time as Rafa, my idol, my inspirations. 'It's a huge honor honestly. You know, hopefully it's not going to stop like this.' Alcaraz's win over Sinner will instantly go into the record book after the Spaniard saved three championship points before winning in five hours and 29 minutes - the longest French Open final of all time. But he said that he will leave it up to the public to decide where his win over the World No 1 Sinner would rank among the best matches ever seen when compared to classics like Federer-Nadal and Borg-McEnroe. 'If people put our match in that table, it's a huge honour for me,' Alcaraz said. 'I don't know if it is at the same level as those matches because those matches are know, the history of tennis and the history of the sport. 'I don't know if our match is in the same table as them. But just happy to put our match and our names in the history of the grand slams, in the history of Roland Garros.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Aryna Sabalenka vows to ‘learn' after releasing statement on Coco Gauff comments
Aryna Sabalenka vowed to 'learn' and said she wanted to give 'credit' to Coco Gauff following her comments that came after her French Open final defeat to the American on Saturday. The World No 1 criticised her own performance, in which she lost from a set up and made 70 unforced errors in difficult, windy conditions, and said 'it was the worst final I have ever played'. Sabalenka continued by suggesting Gauff was fortunate to win, saying the 21-year-old had been lucky when she was 'framing' balls and adding that she would have lost to defending champion Iga Swiatek had she made the final. In a particularly ungracious press conference, which came after Sabalenka lost a second grand slam final in a row, the World No 1 said: 'I think she won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes.' On Sunday, Sabalenka posted on her Instagram stories: 'Yesterday was a tough one. Coco handled the conditions much better than I did and fully deserved the win. She was the better player yesterday, and I want to give her the credit she earned. "You all know me... I'm always going to be honest and human in how I process these moments. I made over 70 unforced errors, so I can't pretend it was a great day for me. 'But both things can be true... I didn't play my best, and Coco stepped up and played with poise and purpose. She earned that title. Respect. Time to rest, learn, and come back stronger." Sabalenka, who also suffered a painful defeat to Madison Keys in the Australian Open final in January, said she had no plans to re-watch the final and will be going on holiday to Greece for 'tequila, gummy bears and swimming'. 'No, no, I already have a flight booked to Mykonos and alcohol, sugar,' Sabalenka said. 'I just need couple of days to completely forget about this crazy world and this crazy - if I could swear, I would swear right now - but this crazy thing that happened today. 'I think everyone understands. I'm just trying to be very polite right now, but you know, there is no other word, that could describe what just happened today on the court. But yeah, tequila, gummy bears, and I don't know, swimming, being like the tourist for couple of days.'
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Destiny child Alcaraz treasures Nadal heritage
PARIS, June 8 (Reuters) - Carlos Alcaraz called it destiny as he completed a thrilling comeback to capture his fifth Grand Slam title at the French Open on Sunday, drawing level with his childhood idol Rafael Nadal's tally at the same age. The 22-year-old Spaniard, long dubbed the heir to Nadal's claycourt throne, fought back from two sets down for the first time in his career to lift the trophy in a match against world number one Jannik Sinner that he said had everything. 'The coincidence of winning my fifth Grand Slam at the same age as Rafa Nadal, I'm going to say that's destiny," Alcaraz said of equalling Nadal's tally of five major titles at the same stage of their careers. Nadal was one day younger when he beat Roger Federer in another final for the ages at Wimbledon in 2008 for his fifth Grand Slam title. "It is a stat that I'm going to keep for me forever, winning the fifth Grand Slam at the same time as Rafa, my idol, my inspiration. It's a huge honour," said Alcaraz, who beat Italy's Sinner in the longest French Open final in the professional era. In a final packed with momentum swings, blistering winners, and jaw-dropping rallies, Alcaraz credited the Paris crowd for keeping him alive as he won 4-6 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(3) 7-6(10-2). 'Without them, it would have been impossible to come back,' he said. 'At the start of the third set, everything was going his way. I had to delete those thoughts from my mind and fight.' Alcaraz saved three match points but the moment he singled out from the match was when he was 6-5 down in the decider and struggling, turning the game in his favour to force a super tiebreak. "The match points were not great points. I saved match points, it's great but the points were not good," he said. "At 6-5 in the fifth at 15-30 or 30-all, advantage for me, 40-all. Those points I remember pretty clear, and honestly I still don't know how I did it. "I mean, it was balls on the line, slicing the line. He was dominating that game. Honestly I still don't know how I saved that game." The win not only cements Alcatraz's status among the sport's elite but also reignites talk of a new generation of rivalries with Sinner having won three Grand Slam titles. "It's not going to be a turning point. I'm sure he's going to learn from this match, and he's going to come back stronger the next time we are going to face against each other," Alcaraz said of the 23-year-old Italian. "I'm pretty sure he's going to do his homework. I'm pretty sure I'm going to try to learn from this match as well how I can be better, how I can, you know, tactically make damage in his game. "I'm not going to beat him forever. That's obvious. So I have to keep learning from the matches I played against him, and hopefully play more Grand Slam finals." Still, with a trophy in hand and history in his pocket, Alcaraz was already looking ahead. "Every match that I'm playing against him is important honestly. This is the first match in a Grand Slam final. Hopefully not the last time," he said. "Because every time that we face against each other, we raise our level to the top."
