Making friends on both sides of the pond — even as a 10-year old

IT was not just in this part of the world that Rory McIlroy’s US Open progress was being monitored extremely closely last night.

For the Pinckney family of Orem, Utah, McIlroy’s elevation to the status of a major winner brought about the culmination of a 13-year bond between the two golfing families and even took the young Irishman to the US for a summer.

Added to the interest was the fact that their son, Scott Pinckney, was also playing Congressional this week.