Irish Opens at the K Club. Either Rory McIlroy wins or an unheralded Swede.
This time it was McIlroy who crowned his Grand Slam homecoming with his second Amgen Irish Open title at the K Club as he sensationally denied Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren with a birdie on the third playoff hole.
It’s been a year of banished demons for McIlroy. Twelve months on from missing an eagle putt on the 72nd hole at Royal County Down to lose to Rasmus Hojgaard, McIlroy whipped the capacity crowd into a frenzy when he rolled in an eagle putt from 27-feet to force a playoff with Lagergren.
The playoff was a war of attrition with neither player giving an inch as both made routine birdies twice on 18. However, the advantage looked to be with Lagergren the third time as he found the fairway before McIlroy missed in the right rough.
But Sweden’s Lagergren, who won the Irish Challenge on the K Club South course last year, saw his approach land on the green and trickle into the water to a chorus of cheers. McIlroy found the green and casually two-putted as Lagergren’s birdie chip after a penalty drop slipped by the hole.
Queue the chaos, the ‘Rory, Rory’s’ and the ‘Ole’s’. McIlroy, credited with saving the Irish Open in 2015, gave the K Club and a tournament that did not need another Vincent Normann moment its crowning glory.
“I feel just so lucky that I get to do this, I get to do this in front of these people. The support has been absolutely amazing all week,” McIlroy said.
“I thought it was going to be a nice homecoming, obviously coming home with a green jacket and all that, but this has been absolutely incredible. This has exceeded all of my expectations. Just so, so happy I could play the way I did this week for all of them and get the win.
“But this is absolutely incredible. I love coming home. I love playing in this atmosphere. Yeah, these are — moments like this, these are the things you’re going to remember well after your career is over. This is a really special day.”
McIlroy began the day four shots adrift of Adrien Saddier and made a sluggish start to homecoming Sunday with a bogey at the first in torrential rain.
But he removed the rain jacket that resembled an oversized school coat and made his move. Three birdies in the next four holes kept him hot on the heels of Saddier, Angel Hidalgo and co before a birdie on 9 gave him a share of the lead for the first time this week.
The putts started to dry up for the Holywood man but he was blessed with a slice of fortune when his birdie putt did a lap of honour and somehow fell in.
Up ahead, Lagergren, chasing his third professional win on Irish soil, eagled 16 and birdied 18 to move to shots clear of McIlroy and leave the Masters champion needing to produce a three at the last.
2024 was a year of heartbreak at Pinehurst and Royal County Down. Not this time, the putt went in for a round of 66 and a 17-under share of the lead.
“I had a putt on the last green last year at RCD to force a playoff with Rasmus, and it just missed on the high side. So it felt like it was a little bit of redemption,” added McIlroy.
“I hit it, and I wanted to just be aggressive with it. It was such a cool moment, such a cool feeling for that to go in. That gave me a chance in the playoff.
“The playoff, the way the 18th was playing today, it just felt like it was a case of who was going to blink first. Joakim hit a poor second shot into the playoff hole and that opened the door for me. Just so happy to win my second Irish Open.”
Meanwhile, Shane Lowry claimed 15th place on seven-under after a 71 with Tom McKibbin a shot further back in 20th after a 69.
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