There is a plaque planted into the turf of the fairway on the 18th hole at The K Club which hails one of golf’s great shots. It was produced by Rory McIlroy – a five-wood from 256 yards – that set up an eagle finish for the Northern Irish man to close out the Irish Open title here in 2016, an approach shot that won him Shot of the Year honours on the DP World Tour.
Some nine years on, that risk and reward par five of 548 yards will again provide an opportunity for someone to close the deal on this latest edition of the championship, forming part of a stretch of finishing holes that have water hazards in abundance.
The river Liffey is in play on both the par-five 16th and par-four 17th, while a lake runs along the left-hand side of the 18th fairway and is in play on the approach to the green.
Of course, this finish isn’t the norm: for members, the course configuration is different. For the Irish Open, the layout is flipped so that the first becomes the 10th and the 10th becomes the first, with only the par-four ninth and the par-five 18th remaining in place.
READ MORE
Flipping the layout facilitates a greater number of spectators, especially by the 16th, getting up close to the action, as there is limited space around what plays as the seventh hole (the 16th for members).
Changing the routing for tournament play makes sense, though. And especially given how the par-five 16th – another risk and reward approach over the Liffey to the green – is part of golfing folklore.
It was here that Darren Clarke closed out his match in an emotional manner in the Ryder Cup in 2006. And it was on the same par five where McIlroy – two holes before that eagle on 18th – found the green in two in setting up a birdie that would leave Russell Knox reeling in 2016.
And, in between, is the par-four 17th. Where there is a risk-reward nature to the two par-fives, the crescent-shaped fairway works along the Liffey with no room for error for any misjudged tee shot down the left.
Ask Thomas Bjorn. Or don’t! The great Dane was coasting to victory in the Smurfit European Open back in 2005 when he stood on the 17th tee only for the river to act like a magnet to one ball after another. By the time Bjorn eventually got the ball into the hole, it was for an 11 and his race was run as he contrived to let the trophy slip from his grasp.
That is what this finishing majestic stretch of three holes on the Palmer North course can do. Tease, to give and take. It has established its own brand of drama in tournaments over the years. Expect more.
