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Flawless McIlroy storms into contention at Irish Open

Updated / Friday, 5 Sep 2025 20:36
Rory McIlroy after finishing his round
Rory McIlroy after finishing his round

Home hope Rory McIlroy roared back into contention on day two of the Amgen Irish Open with a flawless six-under-par 66 at the K Club.

The world number two and 2016 champion made six birdies, including four in his last six holes, to move into a share of third and within five shots of clubhouse leader Joakim Lagergren. The Swede's sensational 62 took him to 12 under, one clear of Frenchman Adrien Saddier, who shot a 66.

Beginning the day at one under, following a sloppy conclusion to round one, McIlroy went bogey-free on Friday, with birdies at the first and the par-five fourth setting him off on a quick start.

While he missed numerous opportunities around the turn, McIlroy caught fire late in his round to climb back into the reckoning with back-to-back birdies on 13 and the short 14th.

Even though he pushed his ambitious approach right into the water at the par-five 16th, he managed to get up and down to save par and then concluded with successive birdies, draining a 14-footer on the 17th.

It might have been better for McIlroy after a booming drive and iron left with him nine foot for eagle on 18, but he had to settle for a tap-in birdie.

"From a ball-striking perspective, it was mostly a continuation of what I seen yesterday, I hit the ball pretty well," McIlroy told RTÉ Sport's Dave Kelly afterwards.

"I felt like I was sort of stuck in neutral for the middle of the round. Then the birdies on 13 and 14 got me going and then to birdie the last two as well - it was a bit of an opposite day to yesterday, where I felt like I played well and let it slip at the end. It was nice to finish well today.

"It's still too early to look at the leaderboard. I'm happy with my day's work. If I can go out tomorrow and play the same way again and convert a few chances, I'm sure I'll be there or thereabouts heading into Sunday."


The Masters champion will head into Saturday as part of a quartet of players in tied-third, alongside Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen, Spain's Alfredo Garcia-Heredia and New Zealander Daniel Hillier.

Sweden's Lagergren was the undisputed star on Friday, the 33-year old briefly threatening Darren Clarke's course record of 60 from the 1999 European Open.

Teeing off on the 10th, the Swede recorded four birdies and an eagle on the 18th to card a six-under outward nine of 31. He recorded four more birdies between the second and seventh holes to get to 10 under for his round and 12 under for the tournament.

A solitary dropped shot followed after a poor bunker shot on the par-three 17th, but he bounced back with a birdie on the ninth to take the lead at halfway.

One stroke back is Saddier, who led for most of the afternoon until a bogey on the 17th and a disappointing par on 18 saw him enter the weekend on 11 under.

FULL LEADERBOARD

Shane Lowry holed out from the rough for a spectacular eagle on the par-four 13th but his challenge was undermined by a wretched putting display and he had to settle for a 71, to sit four under overall.

The 2009 champion made a poor start with dropped strokes on the first and third, subsequently missing a short birdie putt after a fine approach on the fifth. His first birdie finally arrived after an excellent wedge shot on the ninth.

Then came his purple patch, Lowry almost holing out from the fairway on the 11th, the ball stopping dead inches from the hole for another birdie. Two holes later, he would go one better from the left-side rough on the 13th, the ball tumbling in for an eagle, generating the loudest roar of the afternoon at the Kildare venue.

However, he allowed that momentum to fizzle out with successive bogeys in the next two holes, venting his frustrations after three-putting the 15th to fall back to three under.

He had an opportunity for another eagle after an excellent approach to 18, the putt falling away on the low side and he had to tap in for birdie and a round of 71 to lie tied-23rd overall.

"I got a bit of catapult on 13 and thought that might kickstart me into the rest of the round with two par 5s to go and then I gave it back straight away on the next two holes," Lowry said after his round.

"I was sloppy on the way in. I didn't score very well, I didn't chip well. I drove the ball really well, I didn't do much well after that. You've days like that on the golf course.

"One under is okay. But, as I said to Darren, if I was two (strokes) better, I'd be licking my chops going into the weekend.

"But the way I'm driving the ball, I feel there's a low one in me, so I'll give it a go tomorrow."

His playing partner Brooks Koepka will not be around for the weekend, however, the five-time major winner registering a round of 80, including a triple-bogey and a double-bogey, in keeping with his poor form throughout 2025.

In the morning, a clinical putting performance from Tom McKibbin left Holywood's second most famous star one better off than Lowry.

McKibbin, who featured in a group alongside Laurie Canter of England and China's Haoton Li, started his second round on the 10th hole and went on to record a 68 to move to five under overall.

Despite being far from perfect off the tee, McKibbin's hot putter helped him to five birdies and a solitary bogey.

The world number 153's highlights reel included a 25-foot putt on the 17th hole, the eighth of his round, and a monstrous 33-foot effort on the seventh.

After closing with a birdie, the 22-year-old told RTÉ Sport: "I didn't really have my best stuff off the tee, but my iron play was nice and I putted very, very nice."

Reflecting on the final hole in his round, McKibbin added: "I hit a great second shot in there to about six feet and probably left myself the most disgusting putt on the green, so it was nice to hole that.

"To finish with a birdie, It's always nice to hole one of those to end the day, and I'm looking forward to the weekend."

Of the other Irish players, only Alex Maguire made the cut. A 72 ensured Maguire finished on two under, while Seamus Power, Mark Power and Robert Moran finished on two over. Amateur John Doyle was four over, with Padraig Harrington and Max Kennedy a shot further back. Conor Purcell was eight over after two disappointing rounds of 76.

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