'Open was about more than golf'

ANTRIM Councillor and ‘huge golf fan’ Neil Kelly has told the Antrim Gaurdian how much he enjoyed The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush, which finished on Sunday.

The Alliance man attended no fewer than three times during the ‘unforgettable’ tournament.

“What a fantastic week it’s been having the Open just up the road in Portrush,” he said.

“I was fortunate to attend for one day when it was held there back in 2019 and as soon as I heard it was coming back I was delighted and was able to get tickets for one of the practice days and also the competition on Friday and the last day on Sunday when the winner would be crowned.

“It is hard to describe in words the excitement and anticipation around the golf course as the vast majority of people there wanted our own Rory McIlroy to win.

“There was a real buzz about the place and anywhere Rory appeared the crowds followed.

“I went up on the first Sunday for the practice day with a few mates on the train and while many golfers hadn’t arrived yet there was still a huge crowd on the course and the atmosphere started to build.

“On the two competition days I went with Christine, who is also a huge golf fan, and while the practice day was good the place was just amazing on the Friday and Sunday.

“I was chatting to people from all over the world who just loved being in Northern Ireland for the golf many of whom were staying in Belfast and using the train each day to get to the course.

“It was lovely to hear people from the USA, England, Korea and many European countries saying how much they were enjoying the whole experience including the pubs and restaurants after the golf.”

The icing on the cake, of course, would have been a home winner - but, alas, it was not to be.

“I really did want Rory to win and the whole crowd got behind him right from the first tee to the 18th green each day.

“As a golf fan it seemed a bit surreal that there I was a few miles up the road in Portrush watching these golfing greats in person rather than sitting at home tuning in to see them play all over the USA on the PGA Tour.

“Rory played very well at times but just didn’t seem at his best. You could see how much it meant to him to playing in front of his home fans and he really did give it all but in the end Scottie Scheffler showed why he is the world number one and came through with a superb round on the Saturday to go four shots ahead with one round to play.

“Scheffler was ice cold on Sunday showing little emotion and kept churning out shot after shot to lift the Claret Jug.

“While we were disappointed we didn’t get a home winner I think we all accepted that Scheffler deserved to win.

“The whole experience was amazing and was much more than a golf tournament.

“To see so many people from across the world come to our wee country and love every minute of it was great to experience.

“I really do hope that we can attract many more world class events and continue to put Northern Ireland at the centre of the international media for all the right reasons.”