Twelve months ago Rory McIlroy gave the home fans the victory they craved as he held his nerve to win the Irish Open in a dramatic play-off and claim his first victory since completing the career Grand Slam at the Masters.
The world number two edged out Sweden's Joakim Lagergren on the third extra hole to win his national title at the K Club for the second time - nine years after his first - at the end of a thrilling final round.
In what was a remarkable finish, McIlroy holed a 25-foot eagle putt on the 72nd hole to match Lagergren's six-under 66 amid ecstatic scenes at the County Kildare course.
Both players birdied the first two play-off holes, but McIlroy secured the title after Lagergren found water on the third, giving the Northern Irishman his fourth win of the year just three weeks before the Ryder Cup.
McIlroy said: "I thought it was going to be a nice homecoming, obviously coming home with a green jacket and all that, but this has been absolutely incredible. This has exceeded all of my expectations. I'm just so, so happy I could play the way I did this week for all of them and get the win."
For McIlroy, there was a measure of redemption after the heartache of Royal County Down in 2024 when he missed an eagle putt on the final hole to take Denmark's Rasmus Hojgaard to extra holes.
This time, McIlroy slammed his eagle putt home and ultimately prevailed in a play-off for the third time in 2025 after the Players Championship and The Masters.
"I hit it, and I wanted to just be aggressive with it," he added. "It was such a cool moment, such a cool feeling for that to go in. That gave me a chance in the play-off."
Trailing overnight leader Adrien Saddier by four shots at the start of the day, McIlroy's hopes were dented early with a dropped shot on the opening hole.
However, he picked up three birdies in his next four holes - sinking long putts on the second and fifth - to surge back into contention.
McIlroy also birdied the ninth and 13th, and while he failed to pick up a shot at the par-five 16th, he delivered a memorable moment on the 18th to keep his hopes alive.
In a tight and tense final day, McIlroy found himself in a five-way tie for the lead with Lagergren, Saddier, Angel Hidalgo and Rafael Cabrera-Bello, who made a hole-in-one on the third to enter the mix.
While Saddier faded with a 74, 36-hole leader Lagergren made three birdies before a spectacular eagle on the 16th after knocking his 266-yard approach to five feet.
Lagergren, whose sole DP World Tour title came in 2018, birdied the last to set the target for the chasing pack.
And while Spain's Cabrera-Bello and Hidalgo came up short, McIlroy maintained his focus to record just the second eagle of the day on the final hole.
One year later, McIlroy returns to the Emerald Isle to defend his title at Doonbeg.
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