'It's good to be home in Northern Ireland' - Rory McIlroy happy to be back home as Irish Open gets underway

​The likes of Jimmy Nesbitt, Shane Filan, Sir AP McCoy, Tommy Bowe and Rory Best all took part in a fun-filled round alongside some of the world’s best, including McIlroy, Newtownards ace Tom McKibbin and Shane Lowry.

With golfing commitments taking McIlroy all over the world, time spent at home is precious for the 35-year-old, who grew up honing his craft in Holywood, and he’ll be taking to a County Down course which he hasn’t had the chance to play in over three years.

"It's good to be home in Northern Ireland,” he said. “It has been a while since I've been back so it has been nice to familiarise myself with the place again.

"Playing the Irish Open on arguably one of, if not the best course in the world is a real treat. We don't get to play this calibre of golf course very often so to play here is amazing.

"I was out there for nine holes in the Pro-Am and the crowds are great...playing with Tom (McKibbin) for the first two days will be great for both of us and a great experience for him.

"I'm excited to be back and looking forward to the week.

"The last time I played this golf course was before COVID so it was quite a while ago.

"When I did spend more time here, this is 50 minutes away from Holywood whereas Royal Portrush is an hour and 15, so with less time in the car I always gravitated towards here.

"I played a Walker Cup here and have wonderful memories from that week. I played the Irish Open nine years ago - well, half an Irish Open nine years ago - and I've played a bit here and there since.

"I played nine holes Monday, nine holes Wednesday, but I still have to familiarise myself with the course and some of the tee shots. I've played it a bit more than most in the field but it has been a while."

Just like McIlroy, McCoy is amongst Northern Ireland’s greatest athletes having won 31 races at the Cheltenham Festival and also celebrated Grand National success upon Don’t Push It in 2010.

The 50-year-old, who is a keen golfer, has great admiration for McIlroy and has watched on with delight as he scaled the sport’s greatest heights.

"He’s amazing,” McCoy told the Belfast News Letter. “We’re very lucky that we all go through stages as kids when we look up to athletes...I queued up outside a sports shop to get Pat Jennings to sign a football for me when I was a kid.

"You had Barry McGuigan, Dennis Taylor, Alex Higgins – the amount of really good sportspeople we have and Rory is a global superstar. At 35, you can only but admire him.

"If somebody had said to him when he was 12 or 13 that he’d be playing golf with Tiger Woods and be best friends with him...it’s amazing how sport can bring you together and help you live the dream.”

Westlife singer Filan in his third Irish Open Pro-Am played alongside former Ulster and Ireland rugby captain Best, who is a Royal County Down member.

"Rory was showing us where not to hit it!" he laughed. “He's a good player and hit some really good shots.

"I played in Portrush with Darren Clarke after he'd won The Open so that was amazing and now here. It's an amazing experience.”