Joakim Lagergren May Not Have Won The Amgen Irish Open, But Here Is What He Gets After A Strong Week At The K Club
Joakim Lagergren had an agonizingly close call against Rory McIlroy at the Irish Open, but the performance has still given the Swede some significant benefits


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.
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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
Joakim Lagergren has strengthened his chances of a spot in the DP World Tour Playoffs
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
Joakim Lagergren has given his chances of a PGA Tour card a 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.

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
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