Rory McIlroy, one of the world’s best golfers, let his hair down by downing a beer and then belting out a song in front of a raucous crowd in New Orleans.
McIlroy, the world’s second-ranked golfer, entertained a raucous post-tournament crowd with a rendition of Journey’s classic ‘Don’t Stop Believing.’
McIlroy, who along with partner Shane Lowry, captured the title at the Zurich Classic in the PGA’s only two-man team format, seemed to enjoy the week immensely.
The largest crowds of a record-setting crowd, followed the pair of Irishmen on the final day as they rallied from two strokes behind to start the day to force a playoff and then won in extra holes.
McIlroy was obviously the crowd favorite. Still only 34, he burst onto the scene as a youngster and so is actually a long-time veteran now, as Lowry reminded him.
“He’s getting old, but he still moves the needle a little bit,” Lowry jokingly told the Associated Press as McIlroy chuckled. “Rory brings a crowd and people love him and we’ve gotten a lot of love in New Orleans. We’ve had just the best week.”
The New Orleans-area tournament benefitted from some rare good weather in late April and those who came out enjoyed the benefits. Befitting New Orleans, the tournament had a post-tournament concert with a local band and McIlroy was prodded to sing along to the Journey song, but not before belting down a beer, to the crowd’s delight.
“People have come out in the thousands to support us. It’s not lost on me how cool that is,” McIlroy said. “Every time I get to play in front of thousands of people, the little boy in me just thinks it’s so cool and so exciting.”
