Rory McIlroy won the Irish Open and donated €666,660 to charity

An emotional McIlroy delighted home fans at the Irish Open

Hosting a big party isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be. You spend so much time worrying about whether everyone else is enjoying themselves and waiting for things to get broken or spilled that you barely have a chance to enjoy yourself. 

Irish Open host Rory McIlroy, however, didn’t appear to have any such problems.

Rounds of 67, 70, 70 and 69 gave McIlroy a 12-under par total and a three-shot winning margin over Wales’ Bradley Dredge and Scotland’s Russell Knox. Masters champ Danny Willett was in contention at the start of the final round, before dropping five shots in four holes on his way to a 77 that saw him finish T-23. 

“It’s a day I’ll not forget for a while,” said 27-year-old McIlroy. “I don’t usually get emotional about golf or wins, but this one means a little bit more because it’s not just for myself – it’s for a lot of other people.”

As host at The K Club, McIlroy was not just trying to pick up his first win since November; he was trying to raise as much money as possible for the Rory Foundation. The foundation, which supports children’s charities around the world, raised over €1 million during the Irish Open, helped by McIlroy’s win and generous gesture of donating the entirety of his winner’s cheque to the cause. 

“I don’t know if I can put it into words,” added McIlroy. “I don’t really get emotional when I win but I was trying to hold back the tears there on the 18th green.”

Former world number one McIlroy, without a win in six months, has slipped to third in the world, but hopes his Irish Open victory will be the beginning of the kind of summer he enjoyed in 2014, winning The Open and PGA Championship. 

“I’m excited. I kept saying I’m close and I felt that I needed a week like this to kick-start something and no better place than back here in Ireland to do it.

“Hopefully this is the catapult into another great summer.”

Check out the five best shots from the Irish Open, including three from McIlroy