After dropping shots at the ninth and 13th to find himself tied with his Amgen Irish Open nemesis Hojgaard on 13-under, he failed to birdie the par-five 14th with an iron in hand but saved a crucial par from 15 feet at the 15th, then hit a wedge stone dead at the 16th (the sixth wedge shot from the 100-144 yard range he hit inside four feet this week) to regain the lead.
I've persevered this year; I've had a lot of close calls, wasn't able to get it done. So to be able to get over the line, I got off to a great start, and then I didn't have my best around the middle of the round.
I think Rasmus and I both sort of struggled to get any momentum, but I thought saving par on 15 was huge. And then I made four great swings coming in the wedge on 16, the shot into 17, and then the two shots in the last so really pleased with the way I finished. And, you know, thankfully, I hung on on a tough day and got the job done.
I've been through a lot this year, professionally, personally and it feels like the fitting end to 2024. McIlroy told Sky Sports after he birdied the 16th and 18th to win by two shots from Hojgaard on 15 under and match Seve Ballesteros with six Harry Vardon Trophy wins as his Holywood clubmate Tom McKibbin claimed his PGA TOUR card with his tenth top-10 of the season.
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