Rory wins at home

Just last week, I wrote about how the Ryder Cup seems to be the only remaining golf event worth watching in 2025.

With the majors already over, as is the FedEx Cup Playoffs, golf fans have little to look forward to.

Sure, there are still tournaments on the calendar, but none match the intensity and excitement that major golf events bring. But judging by what transpired this weekend, it seems like the Irish didn’t receive the memo.

National Opens always carry prestige whenever they are played; every golf enthusiast dreams of winning their national open. Last week, the Irish held their own Open at the K Club, just outside Dublin.

If the K Club sounds familiar to us non-Irish, it is because the course hosted the Ryder Cup in 2006. Alongside other iconic Irish courses, The K Club (short for Kildare Hotel and Golf Club) in County Kildare, just west of Dublin, has hosted several European Tour events, including the 2016 Irish Open.

And just in case you were wondering who won the Irish Open in 2016 at The K Club — yup, it was Rory McIlroy.

Ireland — both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland — has produced numerous golfing icons over the years.

Just from the last couple of decades, we’ve seen Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, Darren Clark, Shane Lowry, and of course, Rory McIlroy, win majors and carry the flags for Irish golf.

Unlike their cousins from England, who can be a little too proper, Irish golfers are typically seen as fun, candid, and more workingman than aristocrat.

It’s probably the reason why they have mass appeal and are well-loved by golf fans.

Among Ireland’s golfing sons, none has risen to the heights of golfing glory as Rory McIlroy has.

From a young age, Rory has been Ireland’s golfing “boy wonder.” His stellar amateur career and quick rise in the professional ranks have always pointed toward a Hall of Fame career.

But heartbreak has always been part of Rory’s journey — from his collapse at the 2011 Masters to his decade-long major winless streak, it seems that disappointment follows Rory wherever he goes.

These same crushing blows are part of what endears Rory to his league of followers. He can dominate tournaments, while at the same time, miss the shortest of putts to lose spectacularly.

His Masters’ win in April put an end to 10 years of near misses at the majors and placed him among the very elite in golf history, one of only a handful to win all four majors.

With all the majors and the multiple wins worldwide, surely Rory has nothing more to aspire to. He’s done it all.

But at his national open, in front of roaring fans, Rory again pulled the proverbial rabbit out of the hat.

At the iconic K Club, Rory eagles his 72nd hole in front of thousands of fans, to get into a playoff with little-known Joakim Lagergren of Sweden.

While it seemed inevitable, Rory’s win, his second Irish Open, was nothing short of magical. His eagle putt on the last hole of regulation brought the crowd into chaos.

The sudden-death playoff was equally thrilling. Played at the par 5 18th repeatedly until a winner emerges, both McIlroy and Lagergren reached the green in two and two-putted for birdies the first two times.

On the third loop around the 18th, Lagergren again striped a drive down the middle, while Rory flared one into the deep rough.

With an advantage hitting off the short grass, Lagergren pulled his approach slightly, his ball landing on the green but trickling into the hazard left.

Seeing his opponent down, Rory could have played for safety. But that could mean Lagergren could still get up and down for par.

So Rory still needed a birdie to secure an outright win. From deep rough about 200 yards from the green, McIlroy muscled his ball out of the thick grass and onto the green.

A two-putt birdie followed for Rory, and after Lagergren failed to hole his chip for birdie, McIlroy completed his come-from-behind win in front of his most loyal fans. He won it for them, at home.