As Rory McIlroy addressed his eagle putt on the last hole of the Amgen Irish Open on Sunday, among the thousands surrounding the green stood two young lads clad in red and enraptured by what might happen next.
The putt from just inside 30 feet unerringly tracked before disappearing into the hole at perfect pace and both boys leapt, limbs flung in all directions, with uncontrolled delight.
Their unbridled glee was felt by every one of the thousands who let out the most glorious roar of celebration. It was louder than the cheers that greeted McIlroy’s historic, Grand Slam-clinching victory at the Masters last April.
Here was their hero snatching a place in a play-off for their home Open. This was a moment that confirmed McIlroy as the sport’s most exciting talent on the planet; golf at its most glorious.
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21 hours ago
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Did K Club cheers cross the line?
The explosion of noise and fists shaken in celebration showed why we care about this sport week in, week out.
Four long days of painstaking concentration, trials and tribulations as rivals fall by the wayside – all for the chance to witness this kind of compelling climax.
Golf, and sport in general, rarely get any better. But then we had the play-off, which sadly brought moments at the other end of the spectrum.
McIlroy was up against the plucky Joakim Lagergren. A year prior, the Swede had been on the other course at the K Club winning on the lower-tier Challenge Tour while rebuilding a career that had previously been in freefall.
Lagergren’s story of sporting redemption is just the sort golf fans love. Hard work, perseverance and re-harnessed talent had brought the 33-year-old from Stockholm to this, the highest point of his playing days to date.
If McIlroy had missed that eagle attempt, the Swede would already have been champion. Now he was in a play-off with the world number two in pursuit of his fourth title of the year.
This was Lagergren’s moment as well as McIlroy’s and usually golf fans are capable of recognising such occasions. The mutual encouragement that ensues is another reason the game is so special.
He did not deserve to hear yells of “Get in the water!” while playing his second shots during the three holes of sudden death that decided the title.
Isolated idiots? Maybe. But what about the full-throated collective cheers that greeted Lagergren’s marginally pulled approach that did find the drink on the third and decisive hole of the shootout?
In the moment the TV commentators seemed not to notice, but plenty of viewers did and many will have been saddened by such partisanship from the K Club crowds.
Maybe those feeling that way are old fashioned and naive to think that sporting standards can still exist in the modern era, even in golf? Or maybe they are entitled to think this is a dismal deterioration?
Yes, opposing fans celebrate and cheer the misfortune of opponents in the Ryder Cup. No-one objected to the European roars that greeted Rickie Fowler’s tee shot finding water on the 16th on the final day at Rome in 2023.
But, unlike individual tournaments where skill is celebrated and mistakes bring sympathy, the Ryder Cup is a tribal contest. Crowds are there to back their team and even booing of the opposition is tolerated these days.
The galleries in Rome were as partisan in their support for Europe as we have ever seen. Remember the collective removal of headwear to taunt the cap-less Patrick Cantlay.
Maybe he got what he deserved for a perceived protest against not being paid to represent his country, but either way he was not exactly made to feel welcome by the home hoards.
Such partisanship will likely not have been forgotten by American fans. Later this month we are expecting a ‘bear pit’ atmosphere at Bethpage in support of the home team’s quest to regain the trophy.
There are fears the US fans will go over the top, that there will be nasty abuse of the European players, just as there has been at previous away Ryder Cups.
Officials say they already have plans in place to ensure it does not go the wrong side of the line. No-one wants players being put off by shouting as shots are being played.
We will all be watching closely to see whether the event is sullied by New York fans who carry the reputation of being the most partisan of American sporting supporters.
European captain Luke Donald is preparing his players to cope with the worst of it because winning an away Ryder Cup has become one of the hardest achievements in golf.
It is the last big goal of McIlroy’s remarkable year. He has won on the PGA Tour at iconic Pebble Beach, taken the prestigious Players title in Florida and become only the sixth man to win all four majors thanks to his success at Augusta National in April.
Now, for the second time, he has won the Irish Open and he was right to revel in the noise and passion generated by his extraordinary ability to seize the moment.
Inspiring a European victory in hostile territory at the end of this month would be a fitting climax to his gloriously tumultuous season.
It would certainly prompt in European fans the kind of unbridled joy witnessed by the Irish crowds, including those two young lads last Sunday – who are surely golf fans for life now.
But it might spark unsavoury scenes as well. If American fans cross that line of interfering with play, they will rightly face condemnation for ruining what should be one of the great spectacles in sport.
If it is just raw sporting partisanship that prevails, we would do well to remember it was not just the good side of such support that was on show at the Irish Open last Sunday.
It would be hypocritical not to.
