McIlroy and Maguire enjoy memorable day at opposite sides of spectrum

Rory McIlroy and Alex Maguire might be separated by five majors and a few hundred million dollars, but they’ve given themselves a chance to do something special in the Amgen Irish Open.

A stunning six-under 66 left the Masters champion tied for third at The K Club, in position to win his national open for the second time and add another flourish to an already unforgettable year.

For Maguire, it’s a chance to boost his bank balance and, more importantly, cash in on confidence as he looks to get his foot on the tour ladder at last.  

McIlroy is five strokes behind Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren, who cruised around the North Course in 10-under 62 (with preferred lies) to lead by a shot from France’s Adrien Saddier on 12-under-par.

He shares third place on seven-under with Spain’s Alfred Garcia-Heredia, Dane Thorbjørn Olesen, Kiwi Daniel Hillier and Finland’s Oliver Lindell, after putting on a ball-striking clinic that will have made delicious viewing for Luke Donald.

“It was probably the best round I've played from a ball striking perspective and just sort of putting it all together probably since the Saturday of the Open,” McIlroy said after carding a bogey-free round that might have threatened Lagergren’s 62 had he not been flummoxed by the greens.

After being pipped at the post by Ramus Hojgaard last year, McIlroy’s keen to repay the fan adulation with a big weekend as the realisation of what he’s achieve in his career hits home.

“It's absolutely amazing,” he said. “Just the support, the atmosphere. Even what I did yesterday, that little Q&A in the fan village with the major trophies and the green jacket, just reflecting on this week and where I find myself.”

The magnitude of his golfing journey struck home when he had dinner in Maynooth with his wife Erica and daughter Poppy on Thursday, not far from Golf Ireland (former GUI) HQ.

“Just to think about the journey and everything, I feel very, very lucky and very grateful that the journey has ended up at the place that it has,” he said. “I'm really enjoying the week.”

While Tom McKibbin is tied for 16th on five under after a 68, and Shane Lowry drove the ball brilliantly but shot only a 71 despite holing a wedge for a two at the 13th to lie a shot further back in 22nd, McIlroy still had words of encouragement for arguably the most intriguing Irish storyline of the week.

Laytown and Bettystown’s Alex Maguire received a last-minute invitation and took advantage of it in style, carding a heart-stoppingly exciting 72 to make the cut with two shots to spare on two-under.

The former Walker Cup star (24) now has a chance to surpass his entire career earnings on limited starts on the HotelPlanner Tour— a mere €8,273—even if he finishes dead last.

“I think the thing that I would tell someone like an Alex who just made the cut is, we were all in a similar position at one stage,” McIlroy said.

“And, we've all been through that same journey, especially those formative years of our careers, whether it be Irish panels or playing on Irish teams under Neil Manchip.

“So like we've all done that. And there are a few of us that have come through that and gone on to very, very big things, whether it be myself or Shane winning the Open and becoming a sort of bona fide top 10, top 20 player in the world.

“So the opportunities are there, and it's just a matter of going out and grabbing it and playing well at the right time.

“I would just tell those guys to look at Shane, to look at me and realise that you are able to do it. You know, it is achievable.”

Maguire was beyond emotional after he blocked out thoughts of Thomas Bjorn's nightmare Liffey descent 20 years ago and made what could prove to be a career-changing cut.

After completing the final hole of a two-under 70 early yesterday, he eagled the fourth to go four-under before bogeys at the fifth, 10th and 15th left him just inside the cut line.

To make matters worse, he remembered reading an Instagram post as he faced the danger-filled closing stretch.

"I saw a post Thomas Bjorn put up about going 6-11-6 to finish the tournament here," Maguire said of the Dane's 2005 European Open implosion, when he covered the last four holes in 28 strokes to hand the title to Kenneth Ferrie.

"I was like, 'that's not good stuff to be reading', so I probably shouldn't be on my phone before I go warm up.”

A sensational birdie at the 16th gave Maguire wriggle room before he lost a ball at the 17th, re-teed and made birdie with the next for a bogey that felt like an eagle.

A two-putt birdie at the last drew almost as much emotion from Maguire as McIlroy displayed at Augusta National in April.

Playing well this weekend, he admitted, might be worth its weight in gold when it comes to confidence.

"It'd probably be worth more than the money, I think," he said.

Taking McIlroy’s advice and grabbing his opportunity is all that matters.

“I want to make money; I want to have status out on the DP World Tour,” he said.

"This is where I want to be so 100pc I'm ready for this. It's more a case of standing on a golf course, hitting the shots that allow me to change my life that way.”

Tee times

07:14 M Laird (SCO), T Aiken (RSA)
07:23 D Naidoo (RSA), S Crocker (USA)
07:32 M Lindberg (SWE), J Vegas (VEN)
07:41 M Manassero (ITA), Z Lombard (RSA)
07:50 M Armitage (ENG), M Elvira (ESP)
07:59 P Reed (USA), K Kobori (NZL)
08:08 A Halvorsen (NOR), Y Katsuragawa (JPN)
08:17 N Von Dellingshausen (GER), A Otaegui (ESP)
08:31 R Fisher (ENG), R Williams (RSA)
08:40 E Chacarra (ESP), J Svensson (SWE)
08:49 S Norris (RSA), C Sordet (FRA)
08:58 J Ko (KOR), A Del Rey (ESP)
09:07 E Van Rooyen (RSA), G Migliozzi (ITA)
09:16 T Clements (ENG), J Luiten (NED)
09:25 N Elvira (ESP), P O'Hara (SCO)
09:40 D Brown (ENG), A Maguire (IRL)
09:50 J Moscatel (ESP), J Senior (ENG)
10:00 K Aphibarnrat (THA), E Smylie (AUS)
10:10 A Levy (FRA), T Detry (BEL)
10:20 J Parry (ENG), J Winther (DEN)
10:30 C Jarvis (RSA), R Sterne (RSA)
10:40 T Vaillant (FRA), A Ayora (ESP)
10:55 D Bryant (USA), S Lowry (IRL)
11:05 N Lemke (SWE), R Langasque (FRA)
11:15 J De Bruyn (GER), M Penge (ENG)
11:25 L Canter (ENG), A Hidalgo (ESP)
11:35 C Bezuidenhout (RSA), J Olesen (DEN)
11:45 R Cabrera Bello (ESP), T McKibbin (NIR)
11:55 B Schmidt (ENG), D Ravetto (FRA)
12:10 S Forsström (SWE), A Cockerill (CAN)
12:20 O Lindell (FIN), B Wu (USA)
12:30 B Wiesberger (AUT), H Brown (AUS)
12:40 T Hatton (ENG), T Pulkkanen (FIN)
12:50 R McIlroy (NIR), A Garcia-Heredia (ESP)
13:00 D Hillier (NZL), T Olesen (DEN)
13:10 A Saddier (FRA), J Lagergren (SWE).