Paul McGinley says that the Irish Open might owe its very existence to Rory McIlroy after Sunday’s astonishing climax to the tournament.

McIlroy was two shots off the clubhouse lead on the 18th tee, but he delivered a superlative eagle to send the crowd into raptures, and the tournament to a play-off.

The scenes of celebration around the 18th green will live long in the memory of those who were there, and the over 400,000 viewers who were watching on RTÉ.

As well as home favourites McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Padraig Harrington, the tournament was able to attract the likes of Brooks Koepka and Tyrrell Hatton.

And McGinley says the name of McIlroy gives the Irish Open a big reputation abroad.

“ I think it was special for everybody in Ireland,” he said on RTÉ’s Game On.

“The crowds that we had there were phenomenal and those pictures were replicated around the world.

“The Irish Open does really well and punches above its weight. We’re very, very fortunate in that regard because we have a guy called Rory McIlroy, who’s the biggest draw in golf, who comes back and supports it every year.

“ There’s three main tours in the world now. There’s a PGA tour in America where most of the big stars play. Now there’s the Saudis who’ve started their own tour and taken a lot of the players over there.

“And then you’ve got the European tour in the middle. Now we’re the little, small guy. We’re the guy trying to compete against two massive financial titans.

“ I can’t tell you how big a draw that is. The Irish Open would be struggling quite a lot without Rory McIlroy.

“There’s one thing Rory coming to play. It’s another thing, him competing and delivering every time, and even if he doesn’t win the Irish Opens when he comes, he is top 10.

“He’s there or thereabouts at the top of the leaderboard and that’s enough. And that brings a lot of attention. It brings the media attention, it brings the TV attention.”

While Irish sports fans savour the victory, the players will quickly turn their attention to the PGA Championship at Wentworth, and then the biggest team event in the sport, the Ryder Cup at Bethpage.


Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry will be playing in the Ryder Cup

McIlroy had openly spoken about a lack of motivation earlier this year after completing the career grand slam with that victory at the Masters at Augusta.

But his return to form is, for McGinley, a reflection of how highly he holds this trio of events.

“ Since he won the Masters back in April, he’s had a pretty slow summer,” he continued.

“He hasn’t played particularly well, he’s played okay. There hasn’t been a massive drop off in form, but it’s normal for Rory that he comes in and out of form all the time.

The @IrishOpen_ would be struggling ‘quite a lot’ without Rory McIlroy – Paul McGinley on why the presence of the World No 2 is vital #rtesport pic.twitter.com/vJlVIUpZVB

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 8, 2025

“For me, a lot of it is concentration. What’s driving him at the moment is the Ryder Cup. He’s talked about finding a bit of form, both at the Irish Open and in Wentworth, before he goes to the Ryder Cup. His form at the end of the year on the PGA tour wasn’t great.

“Other guys went to the fore there – Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Scottie Scheffler – and Rory really was off the pace.

“But the concentration levels went up in Ireland. He certainly played to a different level, another gear again.

“He looked like he was engaged emotionally, as well as engaged with his golf, and I expect to see the same at Wentworth this week as we get towards what will be a huge week in the calendar, and that’s the Ryder Cup in a few weeks time.”

Listen to Game On’s full interview with Paul McGinley below

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