As Rory McIlroy stood over his eagle putt on the 72nd hole of the Irish Open at Royal County Down, the moment carried more gravity than all but a few moments in men’s professional golf this year. He had the opportunity to win his second Irish Open at one of the greatest golf courses in the world. The tournament doesn’t boast one of the largest purse sizes in professional golf, yet the result felt more meaningful than the vast majority of professional golf played in 2024. History matters. Venues matter.

McIlroy had hovered near the top of the leaderboard throughout the week and held the lead for much of Sunday. But on the 71st hole, he ran a 26-foot putt ten feet past and into the fringe. He’d go on to miss the par attempt, while Rasmus Højgaard tapped in for birdie on the 18th to take a two-shot lead over McIlroy. A brilliant approach into the par-5 18th left McIlroy with just over ten feet for eagle.

But his putt barely missed on the right edge, preventing Rory from forcing a playoff.

Overanalyzing McIlroy’s many close calls has become one of the most popular exercises in golf, but this loss felt emblematic of much of the golf we’ve seen from him over the past decade. The simplest way to summarize McIlroy’s performances: he has high highs and low lows in a sport that punishes lows more than it rewards highs. His three-putt on the 71st hole, much like his three-putt on the 70th hole at this year’s U.S. Open, is an easy enough mistake to make. But it’s the kind of mistake that costs you more than what you gain by stuffing a mid-iron to 10 feet. And it’s the kind of mistake that McIlroy has made more often than other players of his caliber.

Instead, the celebration belongs to Rasmus Højgaard, who earned his fifth DP World Tour victory in his young career. The 23-year-old continues to build a quietly strong season, and with more solid play over the next year, he could very well find himself on the 2025 European Ryder Cup team with McIlroy.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.