Rory McIlroy's old school hails his grand slam-winning magic with black-tie gala dinner

History maker signs special golf bag for Cancer Focus NI auction
Rory McIlroy's old school in Holywood has paid tribute to his grand slam heroics with a black-tie gala dinner.
Hundreds of guests, paying up to £85 a head, turned up at the Culloden Estate and Spa to honour the history-making victory of Sullivan Upper's most famous old boy in the Masters at Augusta.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Telegraph

a day ago

• Telegraph

‘Expectations were already high for Royal Portrush 2025 – but they've gone to another level'

I am, of course, very proud and excited that Royal Portrush is hosting the 153rd Open Championship this July. The buzz around here is electric, and for good reason. We're not just preparing for a major golf tournament; we're getting ready to share the unique magic of Northern Ireland with the world. Hosting The Open here is a monumental undertaking, having experienced it all before in 2019, but this year we are stepping it up considerably from six years ago. It goes without saying that the ground staff and greenkeepers have been working so hard for months to get everything right for July. Years of planning go into every single detail to help us achieve the week we want. We work hand-in-glove with The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews to plan everything from crowd flow and transportation to player facilities and media ops. Royal Portrush is slightly different from other venues that have hosted The Open in that our 18th green has grandstands all around it, creating a real amphitheatre environment. And the players don't use the clubhouse here – they have their own area created for them, complete with restaurants, gyms and everything they could possibly need for their week at Portrush. It's like building a small city. The hospitality pavilion at the second green and third tee is new for this year and is a huge three-tiered structure. We're expecting almost 280,000 people here over the four days of competition. What happened at the Masters with Rory McIlroy winning in such dramatic fashion means everything has just cranked up another few notches – if that was even possible. So while our greenkeeping team works tirelessly to get the course in championship condition, there's security, traffic management, catering and volunteer coordination that all needs organising. Hundreds of volunteers give up their time, and they're the lifeblood of the event. And communication is key. Keeping everyone informed, from local residents to the thousands of spectators. It's a colossal effort, a real team effort. But seeing it all come together and witnessing the world's best players take on our course, that makes it all worthwhile. And if we have an event that's anything like 2019, we'll be in for a treat. When people ask me about the must-see holes here, I find it so tough to choose, but if I had to pick a couple, the fifth hole is a firm favourite. It's a short par four, just 370 yards from the elevated tee. You're driving downhill towards the sea, and then it dog-legs slightly to the green. The second shot is a treat – to the green perched right above Whiterocks beach. The views are simply stunning. You can see right out past Dunluce Castle all the way to the Giant's Causeway. It's an iconic hole, one you often see gracing magazine covers, and during The Open it's a real risk-reward challenge for the players. Spectators love watching them go for the green from the tee. But our most notorious hole – and one you'll see the spectators gather for in a more ghoulish way – is the 16th: Calamity Corner. From the championship tee, it's a 236-yard beast. It plays slightly uphill over a great chasm between the tee and the green. There are no bunkers here but, believe me, none are needed. There's plenty of danger there as it is. These two holes really encapsulate the challenge and beauty of Royal Portrush. Visitors will discover that Royal Portrush is truly unique. It's the setting. We are on the stunning Causeway Coast here and the coastline is just beautiful. The views are incredible—you can see across to Scotland and right across Donegal. From a golf course perspective, we're fortunate to have quite a deep site. Most links courses are quite low-lying and narrow, but we have a wide site, and the land moves in different directions. No two holes run consecutively in the same direction on the Dunluce Links, and there are quite a few elevation changes, which is unique for a links course. This means plenty of opportunities for spectacular views and scenery while you play. Beyond Royal Portrush, this region is a golfing treasure trove. I love playing other courses like Royal County Down, where I trained as a club professional in the 1990s, and the new St Patrick's Links at Rosapenna. Away from golf, there's so much to do. We're spoiled for choice. Being in the pro shop, I get to hear what visitors love, and it's always the Giant's Causeway and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. But they love the coastline too, all the way to Ballycastle because it is so stunning. You're spoilt for choice when it comes to food – Portrush Harbour is a real foodie hotspot. My favourite restaurant there is Mermaid, which serves up amazing seafood dishes, but Neptune & Prawn, a casual Asian food and drink bar, is also great, and the Harbour Bistro is also very popular. Wash that down with a drink at the Springhill Bar on Causeway Street – it hosts traditional Irish music nights, which are a big hit with both the locals and tourists. Further afield you have all the Game of Thrones filming locations, such as Ballintoy Harbour, while Rathlin Island, with its wildlife and rugged beauty, is also a must-see. If you're a true die-hard fan of the show you can also take the Game of Thrones Studio Tour in Banbridge. Visitors are absolutely spoiled for things to do and see. A week is not enough – especially if you are here in Open week and there's golf to watch too! There was a real legacy from the 148th Open when it was held here in 2019. The impact is still being felt. Shane Lowry's incredible win inspired the next generation of golfers for sure. Combined with what Rory has already achieved even before his Masters win this year, and it really encourages young people to get into the game. We do a lot of work in local schools, and it's wonderful to see so many young people inspired by The Open and the opportunity to see the best players in the world right here. Hosting The Open is a privilege, and sharing this special place with visitors is a joy. They are truly lucky to experience the beauty and magic of Royal Portrush and the Causeway Coast. Golf offers and packages For island of Ireland golf offers and packages visit our partners at: Golf Escapes, Golf Escapes – Northern Ireland, Your Golf Travel, Golfbreaks & Golfbreaks – Northern Ireland

Daily Mail​

a day ago

• Daily Mail​

Rory McIlroy explains his frosty stance against journalists after declaring he has 'earned the right to do whatever I want' despite butting heads with reporters

Rory McIlroy has explained his frosty stance against journalists after skipping media duties and insisting he has earned the right to 'do whatever I want'. Masters champion McIlroy previously stressed that professional golfers are 'well within our rights' to snub interviews and openly admitted he was 'annoyed' by reports his driver had failed a legality test during the US PGA Championship. He did not speak to reporters after each of his four rounds at the tournament, saying a combination of tiredness, poor play and his frustration with the leak around his equipment contributed to his decision, and his behaviour was criticised. McIlroy finally broke his silence at the US Open and in his tense first exchange with journalists since winning the Masters and completing the sensational career Grand Slam, he declared: 'I feel like I've earned the right to do whatever I want'. The 36-year-old did, however, dodge interviews at Oakmont for the first two rounds. In contrast, he was content to engage with the press after enjoying a strong start at the Travelers Championship, where he finished the opening round without a bogey. 'I'm not a journalist. I don't know,' said McIlroy. 'Report the birdies and bogeys, I guess. And obviously you have to - the storylines sort of write themselves for the most part. But yeah, I certainly see the need for it and see the need for the platform. 'Like, I've never argued that. But I just think nowadays there's so many different ways to consume sports and entertainment. 'It certainly isn't the only avenue to get your sports news and information.' McIlroy has also warned players will continue to turn down media requests as long as it is not mandatory, stating the relationship is a 'two-way street'. 'From a responsibility standpoint, I understand, but if we all wanted to, we could all bypass you guys and we could just go on our phones and go on social media and we could talk about our round and do it our own way,' said McIlroy. 'We understand that's not ideal for you guys and there's a bigger dynamic at play here. I talk to the media a lot and I think there should be an understanding that this is a two-way street. 'We understand the benefit that comes from you being here. But I've been beating this drum for a long time. 'If they [golf officials] want to make it mandatory that's fine, but in our rules it says it's not and until the day when it's maybe written into regulations, you're going to have guys skip from time to time and that's well within our rights.'

Daily Record

a day ago

• Daily Record

Scottie Scheffler's frank response to silly scoring talk and pace of play gripes

World No.1 debates discussion over Travelers track and talks about quicker play Sizzling Scottie Scheffler ripped TPC River Highlands apart and then claimed it's silly to merely measure course strength by winning scores. At the same time, the current king of the game waded into the pace of play debate which is irritating golf fans. The World No.1 once again displayed his stunning skills with a magnificent 62 in the opening round of the Travelers Championship. ‌ Two-timers Masters king and current PGA champion Scheffler threatened a 59 at one point only to bogey the penultimate hole of his first 18 which meant he had to settle for an eight-under par score and share of the day-one lead. It was another awesome exhibition of his brilliance, but he refuted the notion it was easy and says it's wrong to judge the standard of a test simply by the amount of shots under-par which starts are carding. ‌ Scheffler, who shot two better than Rory McIlroy, explained: 'The conditions were really challenging out there. When I got out here to have breakfast this morning it was very calm. When I came out to do my warm-up it was still pretty calm. By the time I got to the first tee, it was blowing 20 miles an hour and it was sustained at that for most of our round. 'With the way I play golf, the more rough typically is going to be better for me. I hit a lot of fairways and a course like Oakmont [at US Open] I thought suited me really well just in terms of. Good ball-striking was going to be rewarded there. I just wasn't able to do it. I've always had a preference for the tougher tests that we have. That's always been my preference since I was a young kid.' Subsequently asked if he enjoyed winning the CJ CUP Byron Nelson with a 31-under final total, he stated: 'Yeah, and to be fair, I won by a significant margin. I could have won it at 23-under. Also the PGA, same thing. It was still a pretty sizeable cushion. So I think to call the winning score when it's that big of a margin I think is a bit silly. 30-under? Actually, no. I won by eight.' Scheffler also spoke about speed of play at TPC River Highlands which, with two-balls as opposed to three on day one as it was at Oakmont, were significantly faster than the painful six-hours slogs at the US Open which annoyed players and turned-off fans. He said: 'I think if you're going to look at the pace of play debate, I think twosomes makes a significant difference in terms of what we can do for pace of play. You also have two completely different golf courses between Oakmont and this one. The distance between tees on this golf course is much shorter. The holes are also shorter. It's simpler to get around this place. Oakmont is a big piece of property where the tee boxes are far apart. The holes go back and forth, but you finish one hole and you walk 100 yards back to the next tee and it's also so difficult, you're hitting a lot more shots as well.'