The codebreakers, as they inevitably do, found a way to decipher even one of the longest, most challenging examinations all year on the DP World Tour; as Joakim Lagergren – a 32-year-old Swede with just one win to his name on the main circuit – played a majestic second round in just 62 strokes to claim the halfway lead in the Amgen Irish Open on the Palmer North course at The K Club, his 36-hole total of 12-under-par 132 earning him a one-stroke lead over Frenchman Adrien Saddier.
Yet, for all of Lagergren’s brilliance in moving to the top of the leaderboard in this latest edition of a fabled old championship that was first won all of 98 years ago by George Duncan, a Major champion in his own right, it was the upward trajectory of golf’s newest Grand Slam champion – none other than Rory McIlroy – which had the electricity charging through the Co Kildare air.
McIlroy, the world number two, was ambling along without any true treat until a homeward run that included back-to-back birdies on the 12th and 13th holes and then another brace of birdies on the 17th and 18th holes, where his eagle putt from eight feet narrowly missed, saw him sign for a 66 for 137 that lifted him into a share of third and with Lagergren in his sights.
On a day which remained predominantly dry with a testing wind, but with none of the vagaries of the weather front that brought spells of thunder and heavy downpours of the first round, McIlroy made an ominous move into contention where he thrived in the adulation of huge galleries and reciprocated with a display of shot-making more reminiscent of his early-season form which had brought three wins on the PGA Tour, culminating in that historic green jacket at Augusta National.
McIlroy was one of four Irish players to survive the midway cut, along with Tom McKibbin (68 for 139, in tied-16th), Shane Lowry (71 for 140, in tied-22nd) and Alex Maguire (72 for 140, in tied-34th) but Séamus Power and Pádraig Harrington were among those who failed to progress into the weekend, while five-time Major champion Brooks Koepka had a miserable time, signing for an 80, to also miss the cut.
To his credit, Lagergren – who heard the roars of the galleries as McIlroy’s deeds gathered momentum – stuck stubbornly to his task, his only bogey coming at his penultimate hole, the par 3 eighth where he found a greenside bunker, but rebounding with a closing birdie on the ninth, his ninth of a round which included the highlight of an eagle on the 18th (having started on the 10th).
“This course is really tricky, it is tough. I can’t really dream of shooting minus-10,” admitted Lagergren after the fact, attributing the return of an old putter to his bag as the reason for finally holing putts again.
Lagergren might only have one career win on the DP World Tour – in the Sicilian Open in 2018 – but he had a habit of winning on what is now the Hotel Planner Tour (formerly the Challenge Tour). Indeed he won the Irish Challenge on the Palmer South only last year, and also won the Northern Ireland Open in 2014. “Ireland has been good to me,” he noted.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy reacts after a missed birdie attempt on the 12th green. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA
Others, though, have fond memories of these parts too. Not least McIlroy, who won the Irish Open here in 2016 when he was also the tournament host.
And McIlroy, the world number two, lived up to his headline billing with a display that moved him to a challenging position: “It was probably the best round I’ve played from a ball striking perspective and just sort of putting it all together since The Open, probably since the Saturday of the Open, not that I’ve played that many rounds since then. But I played well today. I struck the ball well, I drove the ball very well and because of that I gave myself a lot of chances.”
While those four birdies on the homeward run provided the momentum, there was too an important par save on the par 5 16th where his 5-wood approach drifted right of the green to find a watery grave in the Riverriverey. He successfully got up and down from the drop zone to save par and kicked on to those closing two birdies to energise the crowds still further.
“I’m really pleased with the day’s work, and it keeps me within touching distance going into the weekend. Obviously the two boys are a little bit ahead of the rest of the pack, but I feel like I’m close enough, if I do have a good weekend, to chase them down,” said McIlroy.
McIlroy might be the closest of the Irish challengers headed into the weekend but not the only one. McKibbin, too, showed his class with an upward move on the leaderboard even if he and his coach Johnny Foster found the need to hit the range post-round to work on his driving, while Lowry – who had a hole-out eagle from 89 yards on the 13th – has work to do but with intent to go chasing too.
“You know, the way I’m driving the ball, I feel like there’s a low one in me,” said Lowry of aiming to play catch-up. “I’ll try and shoot as low as far as I can to give myself a little bit of a run on Sunday.”
Lagergren, especially, and Saddier may hold the advantage on those who survived into the final two rounds; but the noise that accompanied McIlroy’s charge of the second round also provided proof that closing the deal will be a tough task. The pursuers have intent of their own.
