Joakim Lagergren came desperately close to his second DP World Tour win at the Irish Open.
He may have even allowed himself to dream of lifting the trophy as Rory McIlroy lined up his near 30-foot eagle putt at the 18th, with the likelihood that only if he holed it would he need to prepare for a playoff.
Of course, you can never write off McIlroy’s chances and, sure enough, the Northern Irishman produced the eagle he needed to force extra holes, with the other challenger, Angel Hidalgo, falling short soon after.
Even then, Lagergren was firmly in the picture until the decisive moment on the third playoff hole, where he found the water, allowing McIlroy to seize the moment with a birdie that ultimately gave him his second title at the tournament.
While the Swede's wait for his first DP World Tour title since 2018 continues, his efforts still brought several significant rewards.
Here are some of the main reasons for the beaten star to take comfort from his close call at The K Club.
Prize Money
The most obvious reward for Lagergren is the prize money.
Before the tournament, Lagergren had played 283 events on the DP World Tour, earning approximately $6m in total.
His reward for pushing McIlroy all the way in the Irish Open was more than a 10th of that, at $660,000, albeit with the winner claiming $1,020,000.
DP World Tour Playoffs Lift
Lagergren needs to ensure he is in the top 70 of the Race to Dubai rankings by the end of October’s Genesis Championship to make the lucrative end-of-season Playoffs.
He began the week placed 52nd, but his runner-up finish at The K Club saw him leap to 18th in the rankings meaning that, with tournaments running out, his position is looking solid.
Assuming he makes it, he will play in at least the first of the DP World Tour Playoffs, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, where the field of 70 will compete for a prize fund of $9m.
PGA Tour Card Boost
It’s not just the season-closing DP World Tour Playoffs where Race to Dubai ranking position plays a crucial role.
The top 10 in the rankings, not otherwise exempt at the end of the season, also earn a life-changing PGA Tour card.
Currently, finishing 15th in the rankings will be enough to earn a card and, with Lagergren only three places beneath that position, the possibility of teeing it up on the PGA Tour next year is firmly in his sights.
World Ranking Points
Less than 14 months ago, Lagergren was 580th in the world rankings, but a couple of Challenge Tour wins in August 2024 were enough to see him climb back inside the world’s top 300.
Those performances helped him regain his DP World Tour card but, even then, he didn’t move into the world’s top 200 until a T8 at the Omega European Masters. Following that with a runner-up finish at the Irish Open has now catapulted him to a career-high of 121st.
That’s still too far down the rankings to put him in the frame for any of the four Majors, but if he continues the upward trajectory, it could be a factor as the big events loom next year.
