Rory McIlroy is from Holywood, North Ireland. That’s with one “L”, thank you, although some might suggest the 21 year old golfer hails from Hollywood, California after he jumped out to lead the Masters golf tournament in its first of four rounds.
That’s because the golf prodigy who helped Europe win the Ryder’s Cup and has already played in the Masters three times before is leading after the first round.
Kevin Costner and Ron Shelton collaborated on this unlikely turn of events in 1996’s golf movie Tin Cup. Shelton had already written his share of sports movie hits and previously had teamed up with Costner in Bull Durham. Costner played Roy McAvoy, a beaten-down Texas driving range instructor who qualifies for the US Open. The pair subbed in the name of the tournament held outside Washington after they didn’t get clearance to use the Masters’ branding.
Eager to impress Dr. Molly Griswold (Renee Russo), Costner’s McAvoy shots a course record 62 in the movie to qualify at the tournament. A stubbornness central to the plot causes McAvoy to drop from his tournament-leading position on the tournament’s last day as you can see in the clip below.
And real-life Rory McIlroy?
Playing less than a year ago on the world’s oldest golf course in Scotland, McIlroy shot a 63, the lowest ever first round in tournament play there. Like his movie counterpart, he shot an 80 the next day and ended up finishing third in the tournament.
Today he sits atop the leaderboard at the Masters, playing against some of the pros who made a cameo in Tin Cup. And while Rory didn’t make the cut in 2010’s Masters or US Open, he is doing quite nicely, thank you, with $6.2 million in lifetime earnings. Embattled golf champion Tiger Woods is tied for 24th. Phil Mickelson who appeared in Tin Cup was tied for 7th place in early play. And Kevin Michael Costner is getting ready to shoot the Superman reboot soon. This time, the actor plays Supe’s foster daddy, Papa Kent.
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