Golf Champ McIlroy Arrives Back In The UK - Sky News

4:42pm UK, Tuesday June 21, 2011

Enda Brady, in County Down

Golf star Rory McIlroy has landed back in the UK after his US Open victory and told Sky News it feels nice to be able to call himself a "Major champion".

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The 22-year-old from Northern Ireland claimed his first Major title in Maryland at the weekend, winning by eight shots.

He is the youngest person to lift the trophy since 1923 and the second successive Northern Irishman to win, after Graeme McDowell last year.

Landing at Heathrow airport on his way back to Belfast, McIlroy said he "feels good, feels great".

The star has now got three weeks off to take it easy and let his achievement sink in.

McIlroy poses with his trophy in Bethesda, Maryland

He will then attempt to match his win at the Open Championship, which starts on July 14 at Royal St George's.

When Rory was just 15 his dad Gerry made a punt, £100 at odds of 500/1, that his son would win the Open by the time he was 25.

There may now be a few more punters heading towards the bookmakers.

The golfer from Holywood, County Down, has been tipped to become one of the world's richest sporting stars with a number of lucrative endorsement deals likely to be on offer.

At his local golf club, where photos and newspaper articles charting his meteoric rise adorn the walls, the phone hasn't stopped ringing since Sunday's triumphant round at Congressional.

"The reaction to Rory's win has been phenomenal," Paul Gray from Holywood Golf Club told Sky News Online.

"The anticipation of him coming home is just incredible. We've had inquiries from all over the world and our website hits have gone through the roof!

McIlroy with his father Gerry

"This morning alone we've had visitors from Canada and New Zealand just drive up to see where Rory McIlroy learned the game. It's fantastic for golf in Northern Ireland."

Final details of McIlroy's homecoming are still being worked out, but it is likely he will hold a news conference in County Down on Wednesday afternoon.

At the clubhouse in Holywood one framed newspaper cutting stands out from the rest.

It marks the achievement of the nine-year-old local schoolboy who won the world under-10s title in the USA in 1998.

"Watch out Tiger Woods," the article reads, "Rory McIlroy is out to steal your thunder!"

Little did they know . . .