[PHOTO: Ross Kinnaird]
Outside the major championships, a victory is a victory is a victory. Most of the time, anyway. But every player on every tour has an event closest to his heart, the one they yearn to win, especially at a special time and place.
Rory McIlroy is no exception.
But it wasn’t to be. Riding a potent combination of good fortune and stellar shot-making over the closing nine holes at Royal County Down – a run that culminated with four birdies in the last five holes – Rasmus Hojgaard overhauled McIlroy’s long-time lead to shoot 65 and walk off with the Irish Open title. The Dane is now almost certain to claim one of the 10 PGA Tour cards available from the Race to Dubai and join his identical twin brother, Nicolai, next season.
Still, more immediately, what went on as Hojgaard marched to his fifth DP World Tour victory is worth detailing. Five-under-par and two shots behind on the 10th tee, the eventual champion sent his approach to the par-4 10th into a woman’s handbag. After a drop, he pitched in for birdie.
A more routine birdie would follow at the par-5 12th before the 23-year old’s tee shot to the par-3 14th sailed well right of the flag. Hang on, though. After landing on a steep bank, the ball kicked back to four feet from the cup. Birdie.
Rasmus Højgaard! 🇩🇰
He joins the lead in style.#AmgenIrishOpen pic.twitter.com/HS9Zd8sI3o
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 15, 2024
Another birdie arrived at the all-but driveable par-4 16th, where Hojgaard “stiffed” a bunker shot from 40 yards out. That was impressive enough, but one hole later the soon-to-be champion outdid himself by holing out from sand for yet another unlikely birdie.
Now eight-under, Hojgaard sent his drive at the par-5 18th well right of the fairway into what looked like heavy rough. But he got a lie good enough that he could send his second shot to the edge of the putting surface. Two putts later, he had one last – and crucial – birdie.
“It was a hard watch in the end,” Hojgaard admitted. “I had a number today that I was trying to reach, and that was eight [under]. So finishing on nine was gold. I’m so happy. My game has been trending for a while now, but to get this one is massive.”
And those vital moments?
“On 10, I got away with a good lie,” Hojgaard continued. “Thought I hit a great chip there. Maybe would have been five, six feet past. But then there was a flag in the way. On 17, I was a bit worried I could be plugged in the bunker, but the uphill lie gave me a little bit more confidence that I could get it up and down. Then to hole it was obviously key. I knew it was going to be hard to battle with Rory and the rest of the guys out there. Seeing he made a bogey on 17 obviously changed everything.”
In contrast to all of the above, McIlroy repeated the sort of becalmed play that took him to agonising losses in the 2022 Open Championship and the last two US Opens. A bogey at the par-4 15th hinted at what was to come. But the three putts the four-time major champion expended on the penultimate green suddenly left him two-shots off the pace. Typically, however, McIlroy rallied, sending a majestic approach to the 18th green. But the 10-foot putt for eagle – and a playoff – narrowly missed on the right. He shot 69.
Agony for Rory McIlroy.
Rasmus Højgaard wins the Amgen Irish Open 🏆#AmgenIrishOpen pic.twitter.com/eAZtCQmudV
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 15, 2024
After losing out on what would have been his second Irish Open win – but the first in his native Northern Ireland – the 35-year-old Belfast boy was unusually but understandably emotional. Talking about how much victory at Royal County Down, one of the world’s best courses less than an hour from his boyhood home, would have meant it was clear how much pain his ultimately unavailing quest for an 18th DP World Tour victory had caused.
But it just didn’t happen. And it hurt.
“Felt like I was in control of the tournament for most of the day,” said McIlroy. “I felt like I was playing really solid, doing what I needed to do, making a lot of pars, making the odd birdie. But the two bogeys on 15 and 17 opened the door for someone to have a good finish like what Rasmus did. Missing the green right on 15 was the place that you can’t go. And I just misjudged the speed with the first putt on 17.
“Obviously I’m really disappointed that I didn’t win,” he continued. “I get so much support when I come back home. I certainly don’t take it for granted. I had to try to keep my composure walking up to the 18th green there. I wish I could play in front of those fans and in this atmosphere every week.”
And the run of near misses?
“Unfortunately, I’m getting used to it this year,” McIlroy shrugged. “Hopefully the tide is going to turn pretty soon and I can turn all these close calls into victories.”
Almost incidentally given the drama that surrounded him, the man in third place, Matteo Manassero, continued a recent resurgence that could well see the former BMW PGA champion join Hojgaard on the PGA Tour next year. Just four years ago, the now 31-year-old Italian was languishing on the third-tier Alps Tour. And last year he was still only a second-tier Challenge Tour player.
Maybe that is what McIlroy needs to hear after this latest loss. No matter what, there’s always hope.