RORY MCILROY

might have had a mixed year on the golf course, but that didn’t stop him bidding farewell to 2017 with a €2,000 bottle of wine. The golfer and his wife Erica, right, returned to their favourite haunt, Ashford Castle in Co. Mayo, to see in 2018. And with a bottle of Château Mouton Rothschild 2000 within their reach, it couldn’t have been more perfect.

New Year at Ashford Castle is fast becoming a McIlroy tradition: the pair, right, stayed there for the first time in 2014 and have returned every year since. It’s also where Rory and Erica were married in April last year.