Rory McIlroy eagles 72nd hole, wins playoff to capture Irish Open to fans’ delight

Rory McIlroy made a 30-foot eagle putt on his final hole of regulation to force a playoff and then beat Joakim Lagergren on the third extra hole — all with the support of a highly partisan crowd at the Amgen Irish Open.

Lagergren (66) eagled the par-5 16th and birdied the par-5 18th at The K Club to enter the clubhouse at 17 under. McIlroy (66) needed to make a 3 on the final hole to tie the Swede, and the Northern Irishman did just that, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

Playing the 542-yard 18th on repeat in sudden death, the two men matched two-putt birdies the first two times around. On the third occasion, McIlroy drove into the right rough while Lagergren was in the fairway. Playing first, Lagergren overcooked his approach shot, his ball bounding into the water guarding the left side of the green.

McIlroy safely found the putting surface with his second and easily two-putted from 35 feet. Lagergren, following his penalty stroke and a drop, was unable to chip in for a tying birdie, giving McIlroy — and the crowd — the victory.

“I feel just so lucky that I get to do this, I get to do this in front of these people,” McIlroy said. “The support has been absolutely amazing all week.”

It was McIlroy’s second Irish Open title having also won at The K Club in 2016, and it continued a remarkable season for the 36-year-old, who won a PGA Tour signature event at Pebble Beach and The Players. Most notably, his triumph at the Masters Tournament in April completed the career Grand Slam.

“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. Just so, so happy I could play the way I did this week for all of them and get the win,” he said.

“To do what I did earlier in the year and then to come home and win my national open, no matter what happens for the rest of the year, that’s a pretty cool year. 2025 is going to go down as one of the best, if not the best of my career.”

McIlroy will play in next week’s BMW PGA Championship, the DP World Tour’s flagship event at Wenworth Club in Surrey, England. After that, he and his Ryder Cup teammates will head to Bethpage to prepare for their cup defense.