Boys' Golf: Golf life is good for Rory McIlroy just now. The Holywood 15-year-old is defending the Ulster Boys' Championship title at his home club this week, but has a much bigger date in his diary.
He has been selected on the Junior Ryder Cup team that flies out to Detroit in September to take on their US counterparts before the "big" Ryder Cup. McIlroy is the only Irish player in the squad.
"It is surely something to look forward to," said McIlroy yesterday, after storming through the opening two rounds of matchplay in the Ulster Boys' Championship. "Things have been rather busy for me recently. I won all my singles for Ireland in the European Boys' Team Championship in Poland, and I was second in the individual championship.
"Then I was third in the Junior British Open at Kilmarnock Brassie, and last week I came fourth in Austria in the European Young Masters' Tournament. The standard there was very high. I finished four-under-par and was a couple of shots behind the winner."
Yesterday, the plus-three handicapper wasted no time in disposing of two opponents in the Ulster race. First he beat Richard Moore of Castle Hume by 5 and 4, coming back from one down after four holes. In the afternoon, he overwhelmed Gareth Boyd of Donaghadee 7 and 6 and was three-under when the battle ended.
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