Rory wins the Amgen Irish Open

The Amgen Irish Open was this weekend hosted at the revered K Club just outside of Dublin, and Rory McIlroy was lifting the Waterford Crystal Trophy come the end of Sunday. McIlroy beat Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren in a sudden-death playoff to collect his fourth win of the year.

Both players had been rolling in putts all tournament long and come the end of Saturday they were both on 11-under-par trailing France’s Adrien Saddier and Spain’s Angel Hidalgo. Lagergren would submit an excellent Sunday round of 6-under that included a stunning eagle on the 16^th hole to take the lead.

Ever the home favourite and not to be counted out of the race prematurely, Rory started the day with a bogey but went on to made 5 birdies ahead of his final hole. As he teed up his ball on the 18^th tee, he was 2 shots behind Lagergren and needed an eagle to force a playoff with the Swede.

Remaining resolute under pressure, Rory struck the green in two and drained a 25-foot putt on the 72^nd hole much to the resounding elation to his home fans. Both on top of their form, the duo entered a sudden-death playoff replaying the 18^th hole. They both made birdie twice in a row before Lagergren found the water on his third playoff hole.

Rory took advantage of his opponent’s misfortune and placed his ball comfortably to the right of the green away from the water. Another well-judged lengthy putt helped him pick up another birdie, a score Lagergren couldn’t match when he missed his chip-in to save defeat.

The crowd was alive with chants of “Rory!” long after the player had stepped off the green. He was understandably elated at his victory “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. I’m just so, so happy I could play the way I did this week for all of them and get the win.”

Rory having triumphed this weekend very much demonstrates he’s in the right mindset and up to the task of tackling another Ryder Cup. He even alluded to how he hopes for lively European support at the event in just a few weeks’ time “Hopefully we’ll be getting a bit of this in a few weeks’ time at the Ryder Cup.”

How do you feel the events will unfold at Bethpage Black? Will Luke Donald’s Team Europe secure another Ryder Cup back-to-back? Or will Keegan Bradley’s Team USA prove too much for them and the home crowd in New York? We’re eagerly counting down the days to the tournament and we’ve no doubt you are too. If you require any assistance from us ahead of your next round, you can find us in the shop.