Rory McIlroy’s homecoming turned into history at The K Club, where he fought through a tense playoff to claim his 20th DP World Tour win and a second Amgen Irish Open title. The Northern Irishman, now only the second Irish professional (after Harry Bradshaw) to lift the trophy twice, was overwhelmed by the deafening support of the home crowd and struggled to hold back tears as chants of “Rory” echoed across the course.

In the post-win interview, McIlroy was asked, “Rory, nine years ago you won your first Irish Open here at The K Club. Now you’ve won your second. Just try to describe your emotions if you can right now.” His last win at the event came with a three-stroke difference against Bradley Dredge and Russell Knox in 2016. Now, 9 years later, after bringing the green jacket home, he has done it again in front of the home crowd.

Drowning in this emotionally overwhelming moment. he said, “Look, I feel just so lucky that I get to do this, I get to do this in front of these people. The support has been absolutely amazing all week.” Before he could end his sentence with a trembling voice and teary eyes, the fans started chanting his name. The brief moment of praise from the fans gave the golfer some time to soak in the emotions as he smiled, looking towards the crowd.

Further, he continued, “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.” Again, the chants of “RORY” rhythmically started. This was his first DP World Tour win of the season (finished T4 at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic), and he was thrilled to make his second appearance of the season in front of his home crowd. In fact, during the initial rounds, he was seen interacting with the fans, wearing a green jacket, and all the major trophies behind him.

When asked if the support is similar to what he got at the Masters, he bluntly said no. The Masters winner said, “I didn’t. 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. I love playing in this atmosphere. Yeah, these are — moments like this, these are the things you’re going to remember well after your career is over. This is a really special day.” The golfer started the season with a win at the AT&T Pebble Beach and then continued his streak with the PLAYERS Championship and the Masters Tournament. But after that, there was a decline in terms of not only victories but also his performance.

Even in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, his performance dropped as he finished T7 at the St. Jude Championship, then T12 at the BMW Championship, and T23 at the Tour Championship. But now, his performance 2 weeks before the Ryder Cup has brought in support as well as confidence. After his first round struggle with one under 71, the Northern Irishman fought back with his rounds of 66, 68, and 66. After 72 holes, he, along with the Swede Lagergren, was tied with -17. The duo went on to compete in a playoff, where they faced cutthroat competition. Both of them birdied the first two playoff holes.

But the World No. 2, on the third hole, carded an eagle to clinch the second Amgen Irish Open title. Being the most rooted player by the home crowd, his win turned the course into an electrifying wave among the crowd.

McIlroy, who first tasted DP World Tour success at the 2009 Dubai Desert Classic with a one-shot win over Justin Rose, has now reached the milestone of 20 career titles. With momentum on his side, he is already looking ahead to his next challenge on the DP World Tour.

Rory McIlroy’s next stop before the Ryder Cup

McIlroy, who first tasted DP World Tour success at the 2009 Dubai Desert Classic with a one-shot win over Justin Rose, has now reached the milestone of 20 career titles. With momentum on his side, he is already looking ahead to his next challenge on the DP World Tour.

He will tee it up alongside his European Ryder Cup teammates, including Ludvig Åberg, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Rasmus Højgaard, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton, Jon Rahm, Robert MacIntyre, and Shane Lowry.

Beyond the team dynamic, McIlroy has a chance to turn past near-misses into triumph. Already one of only two Northern Irishmen — alongside Harry Bradshaw — to lift the BMW PGA Championship trophy, a second win would carve out another piece of history. The question now is: can he finally get it done just weeks before the Ryder Cup?