Holywood ending leaves 'immortal' McIlroy's hometown buzzing

Welcome to Holywood - Rory McIlroy's Holywood.

The town in County Down has always been proud of their local golfing superstar 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 National Golf Club in Georgia.

When McIlroy sank the final putt in his play-off against Justin Rose, he fell to the ground - overcome with emotion - before celebrating with caddie Harry Diamond, his childhood friend from Holywood, as well as wife Erica Stoll and daughter Poppy.

Back in his hometown on Monday morning, John Reynolds said he was absolutely delighted that McIlroy "managed to finally get over the line".

• Live reaction as McIlroy seals career grand slam

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 nerve-racking play 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.

"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."

Seamus O'Connor, a former captain at Holywood Golf Club, said McIlroy's career grand slam was "a long time coming - but we expected it to come".

Even through McIlroy's ups and downs during the final round at Augusta - in which he had "won it about three times and lost it three or four times" - Seamus did not believe he was not going to make it.

McIlroy "had a few disappointments but he got over the line in the end", 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.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla sent their congratulations, with a post on the Royal Family social media accounts noting the "historic win".

Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill said the public was "busting with pride" at McIlroy's Masters win.

"It was an emotional rollercoaster, everybody was behind him every step of the way," she said.

She said she hoped there was the "biggest reception possible" to welcome him home, and described his story as a "positive journey which shows that if you work hard in life you can get there in the end".

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said McIlroy would "undoubtedly get a deserved hero's welcome when he comes home."

The President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, described the win as "a truly outstanding achievement".

McIlroy's achievement is to be celebrated with a special Royal Mail postmark.

Royal Mail said stamped envelopes posted between April 15-17 will feature a congratulatory message which says: "Congratulations, Rory McIlroy, on completing your career Grand Slam!"

Another Holywood resident, Veronica Kiersey, said McIlroy was "absolutely fantastic".

"It's brilliant because he's well known up here and everybody knows that he's put money into the golf course here which is very kind," she said.

Sarah-Jane Round, who lives and works in Holywood, said there was an "amazing buzz" following Rory's win.

"It's been the talk of Holywood," she said.

"I definitely thought he had a chance. He's put the work in throughout the years and he's done absolutely fantastic.

"He really represents Holywood very well."

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 won gold in the pentathlon at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.

"It changes your life forever, the world is his oyster now," she said.

UTV presenter Gerry Kelly reminisced about a now famous episode of his chat show from 1999 which featured a nine-year-old McIlroy.

Mr Kelly told BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback programme that he had asked McIlroy's parents how he practised during the winter.

"His mum said 'We just simply open the door of the kitchen, he goes up the hall and we open the door of the washing machine and he chips into it for a couple of hours'.

"We thought that's a lovely idea so we recreated the scene in the studio and we had him chipping into the washing machine.

"Even though I said: 'Remember this name – Rory McIlroy', little did I think then that he was going to become the greatest golfer on the planet."

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.