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Rory McIlroy Wins His Irish Open

In what seemed like a Ryder Cup atmosphere at the K Club, hometown favorite Rory McIlroy finally got into the winners circle in Ireland as he powered his way to an emotional win at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.

McIlroy, winless since last season’s DP World Tour Championship, has seen Jason Day and Jordan Spieth garner most of the press recently as he slipped to third in the world rankings.  But McIlroy was determined to do something about it at his national open.rory irish emotional

He has spoken about how he dreamed of this win as a youth and it showed on his face as he putted out for eagle on the 72nd hole for his three shot win over Russell Knox and Bradley Dredge.

McIlroy hit some exquisite approaches on sixteen and seventeen but none more impressive then his second shot into the par five eighteenth.  After a massive drive with 252 left to the hole he crushed a fairway wood that never left the pin.  It settled three feet from the hole to the boisterous cheers from his Irish countrymen.

They wanted their man, “our Rory” to finally win in his homeland, a country that loves its golf and adores its golfers.  And they let the players know just where they stood.  As Russell Knox took the lead his good shots were met with relative silence and his bad ones almost welcomed with murmurs.

Rory’s every move was cheered but he certainly made it more exciting than it needed to be.  He missed a few short putts early in the round and after a wonderful shot into seventeen let another putt slide by the hole.  As strong as his good shots were his putter is still not where he needs it to be.

But that didn’t matter at all after he struck that laser into the last to close out his win.

He had tears in his eyes as he walked on to the final green as his fans and family cheered their national hero.  It was an emotional time for him and he struggled to keep his composure.

“I don’t really get emotional when I win, but I was holding back the tears there,” he said. “To play like that and finish like that, with all of my friends and family watching, was just so special.”

Click here for the European Tour’s highlight package.

 

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