Welcome to Holywood – Rory McIlroy’s Holywood.

The town in County Down has always been proud of their local golfing superstar but it has reached a whole new level after his dramatic win on Sunday.

He finally joined a select club of just six golfers to achieve the career Grand Slam with victory in the Masters.

The boy from Holywood received his Hollywood ending, and the town is buzzing.

It may be a grey Monday in Holywood but the faces of sleep-deprived golf fans light up when they are asked about the rollercoaster scenes at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.

John Reynolds, who lives in Holywood, said he was absolutely delighted that McIlroy “managed to finally get over the line”.

He watched every minute of the final day on Sunday.

“It was tortuous, it was not what we all expected. We were hoping for a triumphant run through the last round,” he said.

He said the win was massive for the town, and McIlroy’s “golfing immortality” was a good reflection on Holywood.

David Addis, who also lives in Holywood, was travelling on Sunday so he was listening on the radio as the nerve-racking play unfolded.

“It’s the first time I’ve listened to a major sporting event as it evolved and because the journey was broken by a flight my understanding of it was interrupted for a full 55 minutes while it was swinging all over the place,” he said.

“I always thought he had a chance but after the near misses and especially when he kicked off the final day with a double bogey I thought, oh goodness it’s going to happen again, but he obviously is a lot more resilient now.”

Holywood is a coastal town, not far from Belfast. It has a beach, a busy High Street and some pricey properties.

Every time McIlroy wins a major, one of the bakeries makes biscuits with his face on them and they were on the shelves early on Monday morning.

Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill said the public was “busting with pride” at McIlroy’s Masters win.

“It was an emotional rollercoaster, everybody was behind him every step of the way,” she said.

She said she hoped there was the “biggest reception possible” to welcome him home, and described his story as a “positive journey which shows that if you work hard in life you can get there in the end”.

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly posted her support on social media.

She said McIlroy would “undoubtedly get a deserved hero’s welcome when he comes home.”

The President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, described the win as “a truly outstanding achievement”.

Another Holywood resident, Veronica Kiersey, said McIlroy was “absolutely fantastic”.

“It’s brilliant because he’s well known up here and everybody knows that he’s put money into the golf course here which is very kind,” she sid.

Sarah-Jane Round, who lives and works in Holywood, said there was an “amazing buzz” following Rory’s win.

“It’s been the talk of Holywood,” she said.

“I definitely thought he had a chance. He’s put the work in throughout the years and he’s done absolutely fantastic.

“He really represents Holywood very well.”

TV and film writer Declan Lawn was on his way to edit the latest series of Blue Lights in Holywood when he bumped into BBC News NI.

He stayed up “into the wee hours” to watch McIlroy.

“It was worth every second,” he said. “It’s one of the greatest sporting stories ever in history.

“He was fighting his demons, and fighting the past and fighting himself and he didn’t do it perfectly. He had to find courage to come back and he did. It’s such a human story, a Hollywood ending.”

Fellow Northern Irish sporting hero Lady Mary Peters said she was absolutely overjoyed at McIlroy’s success.

“He has been so close in the past and didn’t quite make it but this was his right time to do it,” she said.

Lady Peters was the 1972 Olympic champion in the pentathlon.

“It changes your life forever, the world is his oyster now,” she said.

McIlroy was schooled in Holywood – he first attended St Patrick’s Primary School before moving on to Sullivan Upper School.

His passion for the sport grew from his father, a keen golfer, who took him to the golf course in his pram.

McIlroy’s local course, Holywood Golf Club, is on the slopes of the Holywood hills.

McIlroy turned professional in 2007 and won his first major in 2011 at the US Open, and in 2012 he won the PGA Championship in 2012.

He then won The Open in 2014, leaving the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam.