Rory McIlroy drew the most attention from the crowd, but a 33-year-old Swede drew the most circles on his scorecard Friday at the 2025 Amgen Irish Open.
Joakim Lagergren made nine birdies and an eagle en route to a blistering 10-under 62 at the K Club in Straffan, Ireland. He teed off on the back nine and made three straight birdies on Nos. 10-12 to kickstart his round before making another birdie on the 16th and an eagle at the par-5 18th.
“I just played really well out there,” Lagergren said. “My putter was obviously really hot. Holed a lot of putts today. Did yesterday as well, but didn’t really have my A-game yesterday. Working with my coach yesterday afternoon and obviously found something.”
At 9 under with four holes to play, Lagergren had an outside chance at 59, but a bogey on the eighth dashed those hopes. Still, he made birdie on No. 9 to finish on a high note.
“I think this course is really tricky. It is tough. I can’t really dream of shooting minus 10 at K Club.”
He’ll take the lead into the weekend at 12 under, one shot clear of France’s Adrien Saddier, who sits in solo second place after a 66 Friday.
Those two have a cushion ahead of a pack full of big names, including McIlroy, who bounced back with a bogey-free 66 to enter the weekend at 7 under, in a four-way tie for third with Alfredo Garcia-Heredia, Daniel Hillier and PGA Tour stalwart Thorbjorn Olesen.
McIlroy started strong with birdies on Nos. 1 and 4, but he cooled off to the tune of eight straight pars before going nuclear down the stretch with back-to-back birdies on holes 13-14 and 17-18.
“I felt like I hit the ball pretty similarly to yesterday, maybe gave myself a few more chances with the approach shots. Yeah, I just didn’t make a bogey, which was nice. A couple of good par saves on the back nine and finished well with a couple of birdies on the last three holes.
“Overall, I’m really pleased with the day’s work, and it keeps me within touching distance going into the weekend,” McIlroy said. “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.”
It was a round more like what we’ve come to expect from the World No. 2, who was steaming mad after being put on the clock during Thursday’s first round in which he shot 1-under 71. McIlroy, 36, would obviously love to win the Irish Open, but he is also working to get his game into shape so he can live up to his billing as Europe’s heavyweight in the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black later this month.
A few of his Ryder Cup teammates are enjoying good weeks, too, including Englishman Tyrrell Hatton, who is one behind McIlroy in a nine-way tie for seventh at 6 under. Hatton started on No. 10 and shot 68 on Friday, which included three birdies in four holes on Nos. 1-4.
“Ended up being a pretty good day,” Hatton said. “It was a little bit scruffy early on. Not used to the early starts, I guess. Yeah, it took me a while to get going. Holed a nice par putt on 17, and then from there, I had a nice sort of burst of birdies. That was key to today’s round.”
Shane Lowry, who will join McIlroy and Hatton on Team Europe, is in a tie for 22nd at 4 under after a 71 in Friday’s second round. He struggled to start, making bogeys on Nos. 1 and 3, but a birdie on 11 and an eagle on hole 13 put him safely back inside the even-par cutline.
“I feel like I hit the ball really well obviously off the tee. Then it was just weird, I don’t know, my iron play was a little poor. Then I was sloppy and I missed the green. I missed a couple early on at the start. I missed a couple of greens on the wrong side, and before you know it, you’re a couple over and you’re fighting.
“I’m proud of the way I battled back going into the back nine. The last place you want to be is 1-under par for the tournament playing 16, 17, 18 where the trouble is waiting. So I felt like I did very well to get my round back together.”
Other notables to make the cut at the Irish Open include Christiaan Bezuidenhout (5 under), Thomas Detry (2 under), Erik Van Rooyen (1 under) and LIV Golf star Patrick Reed (even).
The final pairing of Lagergren and Saddier tee off at 8:10 a.m. ET for the third round, while McIlroy goes off at 7:50 a.m. and Hatton at 7:40 a.m.
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