With McIlroy’s Masters victory elevating him to the ranks of his sport’s immortals, the favourite son of Holywood, Co Down, has also smashed TV ratings records as fans draw up a wish-list of ways they hope will bring his success back home. As calls for a major “Rory Day” party continue, it’s understood that Ards and North Down Council is keen to negotiate with his team about arranging something big. Exactly what that might be depends on the man himself, but so far speculation’s pushing everything from a conquering hero’s welcome on an open-top bus on what fans hope would be a one-off public holiday, to a celebratory homecoming at Holywood Golf Club, to bursaries in Rory’s name set up to help the next generation of Northern Ireland’s sports stars, to a statue in the heart of his hometown. In fact, the council has been trying without success to arrange a McIlroy bash for around a decade. Late in 2015, it resolved to hold some kind of event marking his sporting prowess but so far nothing’s come of it as, sources say, it became difficult to hammer out what should happen and when around the star’s busy schedule. It’s been on the long finger for such a protracted period of time that the politician who suggested it, then-councillor Andrew Muir, has long since left the council for Stormont and is now Agriculture Minister. Meanwhile Sky Sports has announced it recorded the most watched day in its history as Rory claimed his long-awaited grand slam green jacket. His Masters Tournament victory combined with other high-profile Sunday (13th) events including Premier League football and the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix to have 7.5m fans glued to their screens. The channel scored its highest viewing share ever, with 19% of the entire TV audience switching on – higher than any terrestrial broadcaster. It doesn’t quite hit the heights of Northern Ireland’s most watched sporting moment, the 18.5m who tuned in to see Dennis Taylor triumph over Steve Davis in the 1985 World Snooker Championship final, but that happened in a very different world. Back then, Sky was a comparatively small operation only available to the limited number of British homes that had cable TV, and the vast majority of people stuck to watching four main terrestrial broadcast channels. One of the legacies of Rory’s previous wins is that his home club in Holywood has the biggest junior section in the island of Ireland, and it’s widely believed his grand slam success will inspire many more kids to hit the fairway. Holywood Golf Club’s lady captain, Patricia Kelleher, has seen already seen that effect first hand. She tells the News Letter: “He’s such a superb golfer, but he shows the human side as well; the amalgam of both aspects mean you have a superstar. He’s unique. “I’m a retired teacher, and as that I couldn’t help but be aware of the impact he had on the youngsters and the way his dream was shared with them – it’s like spilling stardust on them, they’re all trying to be little Rorys.”