'He's done Holywood proud': Hometown rejoices at Rory McIlroy's back-to-back Masters win

Skinners Bakery on the Co Down town’s High Street made 400 buns this morning, but they were all gone by 11am – locals dashing to the store to celebrate their local boy’s success.

When the News Letter was there shortly after noon, people were still eagerly hoping to score one of the tasty treats, only to be disappointed.

Staff were at least able to take pre-orders for tomorrow’s batch, however, so today’s would-be customers get to tee off early against the expected rush tomorrow.

EEven though watching Rory don the green jacket would’ve meant staying up until close to 2am, locals were still queued outside the bakery when the doors opened at 8am, shop assistant Gloria Donaghy told the News Letter.

“The town’s proud of Rory, he’s done very well,” she said. “As soon as we opened this morning, people were in for looking for them.

“When he wins there’s a huge outpouring of demand, we see that quite a lot.

"We’ve orders in for tomorrow already. He’s done Holywood proud.”

Next door, Chris Gouk of Orr’s Butchers was putting posters celebrating Rory’s historic victory in the window of his shop.

Admitting he couldn’t match his neighbours in the bakery by putting any special meat products together – “We were trying make golf clubs out of bones and I was considering making his face out of sausages until I thought better of it,” he jokes – he was keen to mark the superstar’s success.

“It’s massive for the town,” he said. “The more Rory wins, the more visitors we get – more Americans, more Europeans, you see more people here because of Rory.

“After last year, we all thought he’d go on to win it again, but to win it the very next year is brilliant.”

A golfer himself, Chris said he’d considered heading over to a late-night event at Holywood Golf Club to watch the Masters live.

“I decided against as I knew I had to come into work today,” he stated. “I thought if I went to the golf club, I’d struggle to make it in.

“My wife and I just watched it in the house. My wife’s not the biggest golf fan, but she was absolutely hooked; I might actually be able to get her playing some time soon.

“By the time his career’s finished, I reckon he could be the best golfer ever – he’s already the best European. The amount of work he, and his family, have put in is incredible; that sort of skill doesn’t just happen. He’s really put the work in and deserves everything he gets.”

And, he adds, being able to tee off on the very course the superstar cut his teeth on way back when is a great thrill for a golfer like himself, even if he confesses he isn’t going to rival Rory any time soon.

“It’s a challenging course; maybe not to Rory, but to us ordinary folk,” he smiles.

“Watching him in Augusta, I kept thinking how much I’d love to be out there – until I remembered why I’m not.”

Mayor of Ards and North Down, Gillian McCollum, said watching the last day of the tournament was “mesmerising”.

“We in Holywood here, and all over the borough, are just bursting with pride this morning. Our hopes were high, it looked good,” the Alliance politician said.

“Every time with Rory there’s always a bit of a rollercoaster of emotion, but it all came good in the end and we just couldn’t be more proud of him.

“Every step of the way he was looking as if he wanted it and he owned it. Every so often we rose up, we went down but it all came good in the end and was so exciting, right to the finish.”

Local officials, she added, are engaging with the McIlroy team for a “fitting” tribute to his contribution to golf and Holywood.

One of the lucky few to grab a Rory-themed bun was MLA Stephen Dunne. Holywood born and bred, he stopped in on his way to Stormont, where he raised the superstar’s victory as the assembly’s special matter of the day.

The DUP politician said: “His remarkable story is far from finished, and it was important the assembly formally recognised such an outstanding moment.”