Published>Mon, Jun 21 10 09:17 PM
There were heavy heads and bleary eyes in Graeme McDowell's home town in Northern Ireland on Monday after thousands sat up to watch and celebrate his stunning one-shot victory at the U.S. Open.
A massive party and civic reception are planned for the golfer when he returns home to the seaside town of Portrush in County Antrim as the first European winner of the U.S. Open in 40 years.
Friends and family packed into McDowell's home club of Rathmore in Portrush to watch him end Europe's drought and they were still celebrating the next day.
"What he did was hard to believe and everyone is so proud of him," McDowell's brother Gary told Reuters from the club where the 30-year-old learned his trade.
"The fact that he is my brother makes me even more proud of him. I can't explain how actually proud we are... I'd say he's good enough to go on and win another two or three (majors)."
Rathmore's club captain said its members were ecstatic to have another Irish sporting hero, particularly given that the last Northern Irishman to win the U.S. Open, Fred Daly in 1947, was born just a stone's throw from the links course.
"He is up there with the rest if not above them and this is a major achievement for golf here in Northern Ireland and for Irish golf," Colin Walker said.
"He is a role model for our juveniles who all look up to him and want to follow in his footsteps."
A civil reception at Northern Ireland's Assembly at Stormont is being proposed by one of its members and is likely to face little opposition from the province's leaders who offered their congratulations to the new world number 13.
"Graeme has once again shown that our local sporting talent is of a world-class standard," Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said in a statement.
"Graeme's cool, calm and collected manner led him to a sensational victory last night at Pebble Beach."
Source: Web Search
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