NEWCASTLE, Northern Eire — Rasmus Hojgaard birdied his final three holes Sunday for a 6-under 65 to win the Irish Open and hand Rory McIlroy one other dose of disappointment earlier than a raucous gallery at Royal County Down.
McIlroy had a two-shot lead on the again 9 till Hojgaard put collectively a surprising cost down the stretch to win for the fifth time on the European tour and deny McIlroy a victory in his dwelling nation.
“Sadly, I’m getting used to it this 12 months,” McIlroy stated. “Hopefully, the tide goes to show fairly quickly, and I can flip all these shut calls into victories.”
McIlroy had a pair of bogeys on the closing 4 holes that allowed Hojgaard, taking part in two teams in entrance of him, to cost to victory in gorgeous trend.
The 23-year-old Dane obtained up-and-down from a bunker for birdie on the brief par-4 sixteenth, he holed a bunker shot for birdie on the seventeenth to take the lead, after which blasted out of the tough onto the entrance fringe of the inexperienced for a two-putt birdie on the par-5 18th.
Hojgaard, who began the ultimate spherical three pictures behind McIlroy, completed on 9-under 275.
“I had a quantity right this moment that I used to be attempting to achieve, and that was 8 (underneath). Clearly, coming in and ending on 9 was gold,” he stated.
It was one other robust ending for McIlroy, who has three wins this 12 months however misplaced the U.S. Open when he missed a pair of brief par putts on the final three holes at Pinehurst No. 2, and had a late cost on the Olympics derailed by a wedge that went into the water.
This was a extra delicate fade. His strategy to the fifteenth simply rolled off the suitable aspect of the inexperienced into a tricky lie, resulting in bogey that dropped him right into a tie for the lead when Hojgaard birdied the sixteenth forward of him.
McIlroy regained a share of the lead with a birdie on the sixteenth, but it surely all turned on the seventeenth.
Hojgaard already was within the clubhouse, one shot forward of McIlroy who confronted a 25-foot birdie putt on the seventeenth. However McIlroy ran his birdie try some 10 toes previous the opening, and he missed the par putt to fall two pictures behind.
McIlroy delivered two clutch pictures on the par-5 closing gap, a 342-yard drive down the center and a 7-iron to simply outdoors 10 toes from the opening for an eagle likelihood to drive a playoff. With 1000’s of spectators surrounding the inexperienced, McIlroy’s putt stayed proper all the way in which.
His birdie gave him a 69 and a runner-up end. McIlroy, who grew up about an hour away to the north in Holywood, was attempting to win on dwelling soil as a professional for the primary time.
He shot 80 and missed the minimize the final time the Irish Open was at Royal County Down in 2015. On the 2019 British Open at Royal Portrush, McIlroy hit his opening tee shot out-of-bounds and shot 79, resulting in a missed minimize.
This regarded like redemption earlier than a loud and supportive dwelling crowd, just for Hojgaard to ship a superb end to grab the title away from him.
“If something, it simply whets my urge for food much more for Portrush subsequent 12 months,” McIlroy stated, referring to the British Open returning to Northern Eire in 2025.
Hojgaard turned the youngest participant since Jose Maria Olazabal in 1989 to gather 5 wins on the European tour. This one successfully secures Hojgaard being among the many 10 gamers from the Race to Dubai who can take up PGA Tour membership subsequent 12 months.
His twin brother, Nicolai Hojgaard, joined the U.S. circuit this 12 months. His brother missed the minimize within the Irish Open and caught round to see Rasmus wait out the dramatic end.
“It’s an enormous confidence enhance,” Rasmus Hojgaard stated. “I knew it was going to be exhausting to battle with him and the remainder of the blokes on the market. It was tight all the way in which right down to the final putt. So yeah, it’s an awesome enhance for me for the remainder of the 12 months.”
Matteo Manassero of Italy, who began the ultimate spherical one shot behind McIlroy, birdied the 18th for a 69 to complete alone in third. Dan Brown of England shot 66 to complete fourth.
Hojgaard turned the second straight Dane to win at Royal County Down, following Soren Kjeldsen’s victory within the 2015 Irish Open.
