It was fun on the fairways in Portrush as tens of thousands flocked to the north coast to see the world’s top golfers tee off on the first day of The Open.
The crowds included actor James Nesbitt, US ambassador to the UK Warren Stephens, First Minister Michelle O’Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly.
While anticipation was high to see returning hero Rory McIlroy in action, during the wait there was an opportunity to recreate his famous television clip chipping golf balls into a washing machine.
McIlroy was a primary school child in 1999 when he appeared on UTV’s Kelly show as a promising youngster showing off his skills with the trick.
Ms Little-Pengelly, herself a keen golfer, was among those who tried the “chipping it like Rory” challenge.
Despite the watching crowd, the deputy First Minister showed no sign of pressure as she took a moment to carefully line up the perfect shot, which resulted in the ball deftly landing in the drum. Breaking into a huge smile she punched the air amid cheers.
The crowds, ten deep in places, endured heavy rain showers in the early afternoon before the sun finally broke through not long before McIlroy himself appeared at the first fairway.
You could have heard a pin drop as people stretched every sinew and used all possible vantage points to get a glimpse of the Holywood man taking his first shot of the tournament.
Almost 280,000 fans snapped up tickets for the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush, which will be the second best attended in history.
Among them on Thursday were Lilian Kennedy and Norman Kennedy from Coleraine, and her niece Tracey Bradley from Dungannon, with Karl Holmes, originally from south Wales.
They said they were delighted to see some of the biggest names in golf, including McIlroy, as well as Shane Lowry, who won The Open last time it was held in Portrush in 2019.
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It was Mrs Kennedy’s birthday, and she was enjoying the experience thanks to Ms Bradley, who gave her the ticket for The Open as a birthday gift.
“I couldn’t have asked for anything better than that, a great birthday present,” she said, giving her niece a hug.
Mr Holmes said they had been there all week and it had been “fantastic”.
“It’s great, the facilities are fantastic, we haven’t seen much today because of the weather, but I saw Rory McIlroy right in front of me yesterday which was fantastic,” he said.
“Good old brolly,” he added, in reference to the rain.
Mr Kennedy laughed and said it had been hard to see much with all the umbrellas earlier, before the sun re-emerged, but praised the good atmosphere.
Gene Fleming, Bart Lewis, Brian Halloran and William Bell, friends who had been fraternity brothers at Eastern Kentucky University in the US, said they were enjoying the true European golf experience with the rain.
Mr Lewis said it was his second Open, after attending the 150th at St Andrews in Scotland.
“It was awesome so we came back, and so far so good,” he said.
“Actually when we were in Scotland the weather wasn’t bad at all, so I wanted to experience a British Open that had the actual weather, that’s part of it.
“The weather does seem to have a bigger play in the tournament result (in the UK compared to tournaments in the US), but I do enjoy the hospitality in Europe all over, I think it’s a great place, we’ve had a fantastic time.”
Mr Fleming said they had loved the experience of playing golf in the rain on the island of Ireland themselves, before the Open tournament.
“What’s so amazing is that if we had this weather in the United States, the complaining and carrying on at the golf course would be unbearable, but there is no sympathy here, the weather is the weather, we’re learning about it, we played two rounds in it, enjoyed it thoroughly,” he said.
“We got great weather one day and we got the whole Irish experience the other day.
“We loved it, I’ll never forget it, I’m so glad I came here. My mother’s maiden name of O’Brien, so I’ve got some Irish in me.”