Oisin Keniry

The only thing seven-year-old Michael Horgan wanted from his Make-A-Wish Ireland dream was a video message from his hero Rory McIlroy. He may not have got the video, but he did get quite a bit more.

Horgan, who has been battling a brain tumour for some time, got to be a caddie and playing partner for McIlroy on the ninth hole at the Horizon Irish Open Pro-Am. The two drove around The K Club, looked over yardages together and tested their mettle on the green.

The World No. 2 even gave Horgan a special putter of his own, a replica of McIlroy’s but just a little smaller. The putt was too strong with Horgan even admitting, “My dad always tells me to hit it softer,” to which McIlroy replied, “We can work on that.”

“I’ve done a few different things over the years with Make-A-Wish and with different children’s charities, and it’s always been very fulfilling to be able to do it,” McIlroy told the Belfast Telegraph.

“I feel very fortunate that we have a healthy little girl who’s very happy,” he continued. “There’s a lot of people in the world who would give up everything to have what we have in terms of a healthy child. It puts a lot of things in perspective, and just makes you very grateful for what you have.”

Horgan went on to meet former Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington and Horgan’s father stated that playing with McIlroy is a “thrill he’ll never forget”.