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    Rory McIlroy goes into full Tiger mode to win Irish Open

    Rory McIlroy had already secured the same legendary career-grand-slam status as Tiger Woods, but in securing the Amgen Irish Open in spectacular scenes on Sunday he had rarely resembled his hero so closely.

    McIlroy looked done walking up the 18th hole at the K Club, after the inspired Joakim Lagergren had posted a 17-under total. The 194th player in the world seemed to have broken the hearts of the incredible support that the world No 2 had lured to the Straffan layout, 40 minutes outside Dublin.

    There was an air of despondency as this was the first time that a Masters champion from the island had ever played in his national open and they had swarmed in record numbers to witness him put the icing on the cake.

    But the unassuming Swede had apparently ruined it, shooting a bogeyless 66 to post a 17-under score. McIlroy had competed all day and had taken the advantage on the 13th when a bizarre “lip-in” – a putt that completed more than the full 360 degrees before dropping – carried him clear of a bunched leaderboard.

    But then Lagergren, in the group immediately ahead of McIlroy, eagled the 16th and birdied the last and suddenly McIlroy required an eagle on that concluding par-five to force a play-off. And so, from 35 feet, he went into Tiger mode.

    How many times did we witness the red-shirted one pulling off the same Houdini act in front of the grandstands? McIlroy duly holed it and although his celebration was not as fulsome as the icon – well, he is from County Down and not from California – the crowd’s reception was as rousing as anything Woods ever heard.

    The place went nuts and all that was left was for McIlroy to strike the killer blow in sudden death. Except that also proved difficult against an opponent who did not deserve to depart the shores a loser.

    It took until the third extra visit to the 18th until Lagergren, from the prime spot on the fairway, found the water on the left and McIlroy muscled it on to the green from the rough. The home hero was inevitably emotional after his fourth title of the year was confirmed and not just because this was his first victory since finally realising his Augusta dream in April.

    If anything the cheers were even more resounding on this occasion, as the galleries welcomed his second Irish Open triumph, nine years after his first. “I just feel so lucky that I get to do this in front of these people,” McIlroy said. “The support has been amazing all week. So happy I could play the way I did this week and get the win.”

    So was Luke Donald. Two weeks before the Ryder Cup begins, the Europe captain could not have wanted more than his main strike weapon prevailing in such pressurised environs.

    ‘It was louder than Augusta’

    There was even a tad of absolution, too. Last year, he stood in the same position on the 18th at Royal County Down – the Ulster links which is his favourite course in Ireland – and could not deliver.

    “I had a putt on the last green last year at RCD to force a playoff with Rasmus [Hojgaard], and it just missed on the high side. So it felt like it was a little bit of redemption. 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.

    “The atmosphere was amazing. It was louder than Augusta. Hopefully we get a bit of it in a few weeks’ time at the Ryder Cup. But this is absolutely incredible. I love coming home. These are the moments to remember well after your career is over. A  really special day. I feel very grateful and very lucky that I get to do this. Can’t wait to celebrate tonight.”

    The crowd went wild for McIlroy throughout the week, but never more loudly than when claiming the title on the third play-off hole – Getty Images/Warren Little

    If there was a sour note, it was that a few idiots in the crowd welcomed Lagergren’s fateful shot into the lake. The Irish Open is better than that. There will doubtless be plenty of that at Bethpage, but for now, McIlroy was stressing the positive.

    “There are very few players who get the kind of support I do when I come home,” he said. “To do what I did earlier in the year and then come back here and win my national open – 2025 is going to go down as one of the best, if not the best, of my career. But I’m not finished yet.”

    McIlroy was probably not referring to the BMW PGA Championship, which starts at Wentworth on Thursday. Of course, as the flagship event of the DP World Tour, that is a notable prize and it will feature 11 of Donald’s team. Yet the New York countdown has developed even more pace after this and is what the focus in Surrey will squarely be upon. Bethpage awaits.

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