The golf gods owed Rory McIlroy. They’re finally paying up | Monday Finish

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GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Everything coming up Rory.

It seems easy, in hindsight. Predestined. Of course Rory McIlroy won the Amgen Irish Open. He was the best player at the tournament. He’s the island’s greatest-ever golfer. It’s only natural that he’d emerge the champ from his home open.

But actually doing so? That took a birdie putt circumnavigating the cup at No. 13, popping all the way out and then falling back in. It took a wayward tee shot at No. 15 hanging improbably on a particularly friendly strip of rough. It took a 28-foot eagle putt at the 72nd hole, a 1-in-10 or so putt for the pros that immediately joined McIlroy’s all-time highlight reel. It took a water ball on the third playoff hole from his opponent. And it still took a third consecutive birdie to win.

Last year at the same event, McIlroy missed a short putt for eagle at the 72nd hold and left a heartbreaking loser. That came in the wake of his U.S. Open defeat, which involved multiple make-you-sick misses plus an otherworldly up-and-down from his opponent. That came in the wake of a decade of close calls at major championships, chapter on chapter of anguish.

There’s an alternate timeline where that horror story would have continued this season. Where J.J. Spaun chases McIlroy down on the back nine at the Players Championship and beats him in a playoff instead of finding the water. Where Justin Rose’s approach shot on the first playoff hole at the Masters catches the slope and nestles in close instead of the other way around. And where, to cap it all off, McIlroy’s heroic eagle putt at the K Club on Sunday lips out instead of finding the bottom.

The difference between that version of events and this one is impossibly slim. A matter of inches spread across months. Instead? The golf gods borrowed from McIlroy for a decade-plus and they’re finally paying up. Everything’s coming up Rory. At this stage in his career, he says the most rewarding moments come in iconic tournaments at iconic venues. This year he’s won at Pebble Beach, TPC Sawgrass, Augusta National and now at his home open. He’s played three playoffs and won three playoffs. That’s the good stuff. Best of all? McIlroy’s lows seem to help him enjoy the highs.

“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,” he said post-round, gazing out at a crowd that hadn’t yet left. “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 began his TV interview shouting out the fans. And he began his post-round presser by shouting out his caddie, Harry Diamond, who’d looped for a 16-year-old McIlroy at his first Irish Open two decades earlier.

“As an Irish golfer growing up, one of the ones we always wanted to win is the Irish Open,” McIlroy said. “I played my first Irish Open at Carton House down the road 20 years ago in 2005 with Harry on the bag, so it’s been a pretty cool journey since then. Yeah, just amazing.”

Look at them now.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

Rory McIlroy won for the fourth time this year, claiming his second career Irish Open.

The U.S. Walker Cup team trounced Team Great Britain and Ireland, winning 8.5 of a possible 10 points in Sunday’s singles session to close out the match 17-9. The win was the fifth straight for the Americans.

Cypress Point was a big winner, not that it cared; Cypress Point will be fine whether or not we’re enjoying it on our televisions. But we got that opportunity.

NOT-WINNERS

A few notes on players who came close:

Joakim Lagergren, Sunday’s playoff loser, was encouraged by his play but dismayed by the ending after he came within inches of defeating McIlroy on home soil.

“This is a tough one to swallow. I really thought I had that out there today. Obviously posting minus 17 going into the clubhouse [to lead by two] could well have been enough,” he said, describing life before McIlroy’s eagle.

“Played really good in the playoff as well. Hit a solid 5-iron down on the last [playoff hole], but it got a horrendous bounce. It’s a meter from being dead to the hole. So it’s tough.”

And Team GB&I captain Dean Robertson insisted he’s optimistic that his side can be competitive at Lahinch next year. “It’s not going to be any easier; it’s going to be equally as difficult. But they certainly have got the talent, and with a little bit of belief and a little bit more growth in their careers, then Lahinch could well be a real exciting match,” he said.

SHORT HITTERS

Five fall-season storylines.

This week’s Procore Championship kicks off the PGA Tour’s fall season (the FedEx Fall, they call it), a seven-tournament mini-season in which they’ll trim card holders to the top 100 as the Tour gets increasingly cutthroat on its margins. Here’s what we’re watching:

1. Procore Training Camp

Because the Procore is the lone PGA Tour event between the FedEx Cup Playoffs and the Ryder Cup, Team USA has descended on Napa, Calif. to shake off any competitive rust in advance of their trip to Bethpage Black in a couple weeks. Ten of the 12 players will be competing, while LIV’s Bryson DeChambeau is reportedly in town for a team dinner, as is team captain Keegan Bradley. Team USA’s appearance means a nice bonus for Procore, which may not have expected the World No. 1 et al when it agreed to sponsor a fall event.

2. Rookies on the bubble

Rasmus Hojgaard is on the European Ryder Cup team but actually isn’t assured of full status on the PGA Tour next season at No. 85 in the FedEx Cup; it’ll be interesting to see what events he plays post-Bethpage in an effort to boost that final rank. He and Jesper Svensson (No. 110) are among the DP World Tour graduates fighting to keep their cards after making it to the top tour last year.

3. Top 60 carries some meaning

You’re forgiven if you haven’t yet memorized what the “Aon Next 10” is, and don’t worry if you don’t quite know the formula. But at the end of the season the top 50 from this year’s FedEx Cup (already locked in) plus Nos. 51-60 (still in flux) will tee it up in the first two Signature Events of 2026. That’s especially tantalizing because of the venues: Pebble Beach and Riviera Country Club will make for an iconic back-to-back.

4. Big names by the top 100

Players who finish just outside the top 100 will still get ample starts in 2026, but still — nothing is guaranteed. That means higher stakes for high-profile players like Matt Wallace (No. 92), Joel Dahmen (No. 93), Harry Higgs (No. 112), Thorbjorn Olesen (No. 120), Zach Johnson (No. 123) and Matt Kuchar (No. 127).

5. The return to Utah.

I’m a simple man, which means the striking visuals of Black Desert Resort, host of the Bank of Utah Championship, are more than enough to get me to eagerly tune in. Other contender: the wild, unpredictable winds of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

RYDER CUP WATCH

We’re almost there…

There will be plenty more to say as the Cup draws closer, but this week it’ll be worth monitoring the form of team members as they face off in full fields against players envious of their positions who were just on the outside looking in; think Maverick McNealy in Napa or Matt Wallace at Wentworth. This will also be our last look at the U.S. team in competition pre-Bethpage — will the tournament let Captain Keegan weigh in on Thursday-Friday tee times, for instance?

ONE SWING THOUGHT

From Padraig Harrington.

We could probably quote Paddy every week in this section; we certainly can’t miss the chance to tap into his wisdom during Irish Open week.

From Harrington: “Tiger said it, and he’s so right — Tiger said he could win with his B game. If you think you can win with your B game, your A game turns up. If you think you need your A game, your B game turns up. It’s a tough one.”

ONE BIG QUESTION

Will we see Bryson DeChambeau on site at Silverado?

There’s only one LIV golfer on the U.S. Ryder Cup team, but the fact that it’s Bryson DeChambeau — and the fact that the American team is going all in on team bonding at a PGA Tour event — has the Tour in a bit of a pickle. Tour-LIV relations, at least on the player level, have warmed somewhat in recent years. The Tour wants the U.S. side to play well. And DeChambeau is one of the game’s very biggest stars. But he also left for the rival league, he took legal action against the Tour and it’s tough to sweep all of that under the rug. The question, then: will DeChambeau push the envelope by going on the grounds at the Procore? Or will he lay low off site and get the grill started for the fellas at the team rental house? My guess is the latter; in the context of this team competition, I don’t think anybody involved wants extra distraction. And DeChambeau knows his way around a steak.

ONE THING TO WATCH

Bamberger on Cypress Point.

Three of golf’s great legendary figures colliding here: Michael Bamberger, Sam Reeves and Cypress Point.

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

There’s a chill in the air. There are leaves on the ground. And there are high school golfers on the practice green. The days are precious. But aren’t they always? Life is good.

We’ll see you next week!

Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.