Rory McIlroy attributes his success to girlfriend and childhood love Holly Sweeney
Every successful man owes some part of his success to a woman in his life. Rory McIlroy’s recent success at the US Open has further strengthened the proverb when he attributed his success to girlfriend and childhood love Holly Sweeney.
McIlroy is currently on a whirlwind tour of Northern Ireland and has decided to take a break from the competitive golf and has signaled his return for the third major of the season, the Open Championship at Sandwich.
Sweeney, as McIlroy states, has been a great support in his short golf career and has always been there in his high profile events.
“Holly and I have been together since I had just turned 16 and she was 14. She knows me better than basically anyone else in this world does, apart from my parents. And to have someone like that with you is very grounding,” said McIlroy during an interview.
McIlroy and Sweeney met on a golf course when they were just teenagers and though, separated for a brief moment, the couple got back together.
“She’s obviously my girlfriend but she’s also become my best friend over the past few years. I can say things to her that I wouldn’t be able to say to anyone else.” McIlroy added.
This was the first major title for the 22-year-old Irishman who comes from a working class family. His father worked for two odd-hour jobs to support his son’s ambitious career in golf. The moment he putted the 18th in the final round in Congressional,
his life was turned upside down and has witnessed the stardom that only few have managed to see in their lives.
As he walked through the fairway to embrace his father, McIlroy was thrown upon with the tri-coloured flag of Northern Ireland, putting him in a dangerous position to whether embrace the flag or just walk away.
The Northern Irish and British rivalry rose to the top within seconds as the world watched McIlroy’s reaction. Although an Irishman and a staunch Catholic, McIlroy decided to step away from the maligned self-obsessed nationalistic divides and the flag disappeared
with the blink of an eye. His reluctance to wrap himself with the Irish flag spurred a huge uproar among the Nationalists while the Unionists hailed his decision.
Apart from all the political drama which has taken the young golfer by surprise, McIlroy has been a changed man since his stellar victory at the Congressional. He has toned down his rhetoric against his fellow players, especially his arch rival Tiger Woods,
and has been more humble and soft in his statements.
He attributes the positive changes to his girlfriend and also cites her to be the primary reason to abstain from joining the PGA Tour. McIlroy won his first PGA title at Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow last year and has since been eligible to join
the tour at will. With the US Open victory, McIlroy has five years exemption to join the tour whenever he wishes to.
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