McDowell salutes ‘the curly-haired kid’

Graeme McDowell led the praise for "the curly-haired kid" at Hoylake last night as Rory McIlroy got his hands on the Claret Jug and brought Irish golf its eighth major in as many years.

Portrush golfer McDowell, who preceded McIlroy by a year in winning the US Open in 2010, will now have to follow the 25-year-old into the Open winner’s enclosure after his Ryder Cup team-mate won his third major since 2011.

McDowell eagled the 18th and final hole to finish in a tie for ninth with fellow Irishman Shane Lowry but spoke warmly of McIlroy as he closed out the win on the Wirral peninsula, describing his “huge amount of appreciation for what he’s doing, respect for what he is in the game of golf, and how good he is for the game of golf.