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Golf

15th May 2015

VIDEO: Extremely sound Rory McIlroy plays round with teenager who suffered from bullying

Always meet your heroes

Patrick McCarry

Nice lad, that McIlroy fella.

Earlier this week, we marvelled at the touching letter Tiger Woods sent to a youngster who had suffered at the hands of bullies.

Rory McIlroy went one further, at the Wells Fargo Pro-Am as he played a round with 16-year-old Grace Vaughan.

Vaughan had won the honour of playing alongside the world number one after she penned an evocative essay on the affect bullying had on her life. She believes the support of Camp Courage, a not-for-profit centre run for children with medical issues, changed her life.

In her essay, Vaughan wrote: ‘I was born with a rare blood disorder, hereditary spherocytosis. When I was seven, I attended Camp Courage and met other children that had also the same struggles. Everyone there made me feel comfortable and we were able to share with each other our medical conditions.’

After their round together, McIlroy said, ‘I had a great time playing with Grace. When I was [her] age, I had dreams and worked as hard as I could and never let anyone tell me that I couldn’t do it. I always tell young people to remember that.’

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