Three Thousand Versts of Loneliness

Rory McIlroy – what can you say?  Northern Irish golf has been in great shape in recent years and he is its David Healy .  It’s not just the record of astonishing, trail-blazing achievement: although Rory spent the week demolishing practically every US Open record (Sir David did much the same during the 2008 European Championship qualifying group).  It’s also in the way the two players conduct themselves. McIlroy has self-confidence - he buried any notion to the contrary this weekend, with a relentless march towards his first major golf championship – but he’s also pleasingly grounded.  What’s not to like? He plays a great sport and he’s mastered it at a young age.  He shows sportsmanship and poise on and off the course – even in the teeth of a supposed “melt-down” at the US Masters earlier this year. He’s a proud and enthusiastic ambassador for Northern Ireland.  No-one’s keener than Rory to fly the colours in the wake of a victory and he backs all of ...

What an extraordinary achievement ! Last night,  Portrush golfer Graeme McDowell became the first European to lift a US Open Championship since Tony Jacklin in 1970, finishing just a shot ahead in a nail biting finish at Pebble Beach. He's now also the first Brit to win a major since Paul Lawrie claimed the Claret Jug at Carnoustie in 1999.  And a Northern Irishman hasn't won one of golf's top prizes since Fred Daly's Open in 1947! Most fans probably suspected that Rory McIlroy was the best local hope for a major, but, at thirty, McDowell is at the top of his game.  He has significant experience in the US, where he went to college and his form leading up to the tournament was good.  A couple of weeks ago he won the Wales Open. So it was that Graeme McDowell became the right man, at the right time.  He has catapulted himself straight into the pantheon of Northern Irish sporting achievement and provided British, not to mention European golf a timely shot in ...