from Ah, very close In It’s too close to comfort. From the golf ball until you settle in the middle of the bottom of the cup. After years of severe defeat, Rory McIlroy’s fate began to turn on the biggest stages of golf.
The wind has changed. They were completely on his back, and his sails began charting the last leg of his course, perhaps for the finale of the biggest season of his already responsible career.
He claimed his 20th DP World Tour victory with K Club on Sunday Second Ireland’s Open TitleMcIlroy turned the tournament over to his head with an Eagle putt on the 72nd hole to force a playoff against Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren. It brought Irish conditions to the feet. The father and sons all hugged each other in unison as McIlroy’s fists thrust into the thick, country atmosphere. It brought a sound reserved for just one of my own.
I also brought McIlroy back to a moment since last year when the energy couldn’t be any more different. It was the 72nd hole in the same tournament 12 months ago, and he was tasked with navigating similar putts.
In the Royal County Down, it’s less than that. About an hour’s drive from his hometown of Northern Ireland, Hollywood, McIlroy faced a much shorter putt and missed. The trophy slipped through his grasp as winner Rasmus Hodjard ran through the finish line and left McIlroy after him.
“I think what went through my head while watching putt was a putt that was about to take part in the playoffs with Rasmus in Royal County at 6pm last year,” McIlroy recalled. This gives the hole a chance. “It was good to see you go in the middle. ”
McIlroy didn’t miss this opportunity. After a playoff hole at 36, he won the fourth trophy of the season. One year after the campaign remembered by Near Miss, McIlroy’s 2025 was essentially different in 2025.
Meaning, appearance, feel – everything. Like a 4-foot Tikler on the 18th Green in PCSAWGRASS, he solidifies his spot in the playoffs with JJ Spaun. The tide changed his path even in the middle of August National’s stormy Sunday, when he won a career grand slam by winning the Masters and sliding the green jacket.
The tense look of the onlookers expects no cruel mistakes, but rather the joy that follows the make-up. Like a time bomb, they are waiting for it to explode.
“The more you add yourself to these positions, the more comfortable you become,” McIlroy said. “I’m not in a situation where I’m on the back nine with three or four people with a chance. I always feel like I can put myself in those positions and find a way to get it done.”
There were certainly some strange moments. They are there every season. However, in 2025 there was a balance reminiscent of a man’s own golf swing. It helped him win four tournaments (three of which came courtesy of the extra hole).
On the ropes, McIlroy juggled aggression at key moments, along with the need to be as conservative as a member of the travel circus. In his mind, he does not let him consume, while maintaining gratitude for what is going on around him.
Walking is a difficult tightrope walk, something he had previously dropped out, but in 2025 McIlroy showed that a bit of wind was not enough to prevent the shaking.
“I didn’t (get a reception like this at Augusta National),” McIlroy said immediately from the 18th green at the K club. “Hopefully I’ll get a bit of it in a few weeks with the Ryder Cup. But this is absolutely incredible. I love going home. I love playing in this vibe.
