As an individual sport, golf can rarely compare to others when it comes to support from the sidelines.
With often over 100 players in the field on any given week, there are interested spectators in certain players, but rarely do you get to experience a visceral pulling in the one direction from the crowd – save for the Ryder Cup which is, admittedly, a team event.
Yet, the K Club on last Sunday afternoon delivered one of the great Irish golfing moments when Rory McIlroy banged in an eagle putt on the 18th green to earn a play-off with Joakim Lagergren. McIlroy subsequently went on to take victory in that play-off, but it was his final stroke in regulation play that drove the crowd wild at the county Kildare venue.
As one of the fortunate ones to follow the reigning Masters champion around for the day, it was impossible to escape the sense that we were witnessing one of the greats of the game in action. That moment on the 18th green, and the support for McIlroy all through the week, really was something else.
As the thousands raced from hole to hole to get a view of the world number two, McIlroy continued to plug away and eventually get into a tie for the lead, but all the while it was hard to escape what was happening outside the ropes.
I came away from the Straffan course convinced more than ever that McIlroy is one of the world’s great sportspeople of this era.
For some time, he has been under appreciated as one of our island’s top sporting sons. But now, having catapulted himself back into the major arena earlier this year at Augusta, the county Down native has reached a level of stardom that is on a par with the likes of Palmer, Nicklaus and Woods. Indeed, that was encapsulated in a touching moment on Saturday when he tossed his golf ball to a young girl who was so overwhelmed with the gesture that she burst into tears.
Before that, on Thursday, McIlroy took to the stage in the fan zone wearing his green jacket and with his other major trophies alongside him too, much to the joy of those who gathered to catch a glimpse of the most famous garment in sport.
One can only imagine that the crowds following him on Sunday can only be compared to those that would follow Tiger Woods in his pomp. The level of adulation towards McIlroy was a sight to behold and, when he rolled in that eagle putt on the 18th green, the screams and cheers were unmistakable. This was a great in action.
On a dreary Sunday during which the weather threatened to spoil a potentially special afternoon, McIlroy kickstarted his charge on the fourth green when he rolled in a 45-foot birdie putt to get the crowd going. From then on, it was a steady performance, though his failure to birdie the par-fives at 10 and 16 had the potential to derail his ambitions to lift the title.
Yet, despite Rafa Cabrera Bello and Joakim Lagergren giving as good as they had, McIlroy hung in there and he got some luck in the play-off when, after a poor drive at the third play-off hole, his task was made easier when Lagergren’s approach found the hazard to the left of the green.
What followed was an outpouring of emotion from the thousands of fans packed along the fairway and around the green as McIlroy claimed his second Irish Open title, nine years after his first at the same venue.
Having had a sometimes unusual relationship with the Irish golfing public, there is little doubt now that McIlroy has everyone onside. His barren run in the major championships between 2014 and this year frustrated everyone who wanted to see him do well, as it was so obvious that his talent deserved more than he was delivering. But this year, with four wins worldwide including last weekend, has helped set things moving in the right direction again.
He spoke after his triumph, and all week, about the incredible level of goodwill on display towards him over the course of the tournament and over the years. It’s clear he is moved by the willingness of fans to show their adulation as often as they can. And while McIlroy will be thrilled with his success, the organisers may be even happier. To have had the marquee name embroiled in a nail-biting Sunday will have generated a huge amount of exposure across the world for the Irish Open and Amgen, the title sponsors. The fact McIlroy won, too, means there’s another added layer to next year’s event when he’ll be defending champion.
All across the venue, the faces of McIlroy, Lowry, Harrington and Power were emblazoned on grandstands and buildings. To have such star power from our own island in the field was important – as you could argue it was a quite unimpressive line-up otherwise. Put simply, the Irish Open needs to be played at a time of year when McIlroy and Lowry, in particular, are ready and able to be part of it.
After achieving the career Grand Slam at Augusta in April, you could be forgiven for thinking that McIlroy has nothing left to tick. But there are other items on the agenda: surpassing Nick Faldo as the most successful European in terms of major wins and beating Colin Montgomerie’s haul of eight order of merit titles chief among them.
Yet, for someone who is so well-known on the global stage, there’s something wholesome about McIlroy being so pumped up for the Irish Open. He also seemed genuinely humbled by the support he received all week.
Maybe it really is the case that, regardless of who you are, home is where the heart is.
