Rory McIlroy claimed the Amgen Irish Open title for the second time on Sunday on a dramatic final day at The K Club that saw the Masters champion edge a tense play-off with Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren.
Gunning for his first tournament win since completing a career grand slam with his Masters triumph at Augusta National in April, McIlroy had been roared on by huge crowds at The K Club throughout his final round. And as they massed around the 18th green on the par-five closing hole there was an explosion of noise as the world number two buried a 27-foot eagle putt for a six-under-par 66 to tie Lagergren at 17 under par and force a play-off with the Swede.
That sent the rivals back to the 18th tee for a sudden-death play-off and it would take three attempts to separate the pair.
Both men two-putted for birdie on their first attempts, McIlroy’s eagle putt having gone closest, sending them back to the same tee in buggies for a second play-off hole.
McIlroy, ranked 192 places higher than his opponent at number two in the world, once again found the perfect position on the fairway, 196 yards from the hole, Lagergren not far behind him. Yet it was advantage to the Swede following their approach shots, McIlroy’s effort looking heavy and leaving him to putt first from 53 feet, the ball rolling some four feet past the pin.
Lagergren, some 20 feet closer, still had work to do with his eagle putt to win and he too rolled his ball beyond the hole. It took a referee to determine who was to putt first and McIlroy again had the honour, holing his birdie putt to pass the pressure onto his opponent, needing to follow suit to extend the play-off to a third hole. Lagergren’s did just that and back they went to the 18th tee for a third attempt to break the deadlock.
It looked to be advantage to the Swede when McIlroy’s tee shot found right rough but Lagergren’s approach bounced off the green and dropped into greenside lake allowing the Irishman to make a more conservative shot selection from the thick stuff. He left himself with a lengthy eagle putt which came up just inches short of the hole and took birdie, leaving Lagergren with a chip from greenside rough to extend the play-off.
It was a shot too far and McIlroy had his victory, shaking hands with caddie Harry Diamond, raising his arm to the massed ranks of supporters and letting out a puff of the cheeks as he contemplated his second Irish Open victory, his first having come on the same course in 2016. It was his fourth victory of 2025 having won the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Players Championship prior to the Masters and this was his 20th DP World Tour victory and 45th worldwide.
The five-time major champion had started the final day at the K Club four shots off the lead held by Adrien Saddier and looking for a fast start on Sunday to put pressure on the players ahead of him on the leaderboard. Yet that plan went up in smoke when he bogeyed the opening hole, missing the green with his second shot and then missing his putt from inside seven feet and dropping back to 10 under.
Yet he recovered from that early setback in impressive style and at the earliest opportunity sinking a birdie putt at the second hole from 38 feet. Back to back birdies followed at holes four and five, the second of which came courtesy of a 43-foot putt and as the leaderboard bunched as Saddier was caught first by Angel Hidalgo and then Lagergren, McIlroy joined the party with a birdie at the ninth. One more birdie followed, at the 13th but Lagergren, seeking his first European Tour win since his maiden victory at the 2018 Sicilian Open, stole a march on his competitors with an eagle at the par-five 16th.
It brought out the best in McIlroy, whose 72nd hole heroics will live long in the memory of an ecstatic sell-out crowd at The K Club.
McIlroy and Lagergren had finished two strokes ahead of the field with Spaniards Rafa Cabrero-Bello and Hidalgo tying for second, the former after a hole in one at the 184-yard par-three third in his final round on the way to a closing 67 while the latter did not come close to matching his third-round 63 with a 71.
Overnight leader Saddier of France had to settle for a disappointing two-over-par 74 that left him in a tie for fifth with Spain’s Angel Ayora, who carded a 67.
Shane Lowry finished his week with a one-under 71 to record a tie for 15th at seven under par while Tom McKibbin, McIlroy’s Holywood clubmate, finished a stroke further back on six under and a tie for 20th thanks to a three-under 68.
Alex Maguire, the fourth Irishman to make the halfway cut on Friday evening, shot a second consecutive one-over 73, having reached his main objective of playing the weekend. The 24-year-old from Laytown & Bettystown finished on level par for the week to finish 50th of the 72 golfers who played all 72 holes to collect what is likely to be his biggest pay cheque since turning professional last year.