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Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
‘I'm thrilled, euphoric, that I've gotten it done' – Padraig Harrington makes history with Senior Open win at Sunningdale
As Kilfenora schoolteacher Keane (25) became the first Lahinch man to win the Pierse Motor Group South of Ireland title for 57 years in west Clare, Harrington (53) joined Gary Player, Bob Charles, Tom Watson and Darren Clarke in an exclusive club at Sunningdale's Old Course. Thirty years after he lost his second successive South of Ireland final at Lahinch, Harrington closed with a three-under 67 to win by three shots from Justin Leonard and Thomas Bjorn on 16 under par. 'Right now I'm just thrilled to have won the tournament and gone out there and played well,' said two-time Open champion Harrington, who claimed his third senior major and became just the third man after Player and Bernhard Langer to win the Senior Open and the US Senior Open in the same season. Conscious that his days of winning might be running short, he added: 'I think that will seep in. I know you were talking about how I won The Open, to win the Senior Open, there's only five players, so you want to be in that category. 'I think they are the sort of things that you realise over the next couple of days, the significance of it. I'm thrilled, euphoric, that I've gotten it done. 'There are some great names on the trophy. I was watching it coming out last night. I was looking up inside at the board that has all the winners. It's a deep sense of satisfaction. I'm kind of on a high of winning, but then there will be that deep sense of satisfaction knowing that you've done both. 'And especially you come to this stage, there's only a certain window. You know, you can win later on as a senior but the window, they say, sort of up to about 55, 56, so you want to get it done. 'And having had a couple of second places, I didn't want to leave it too long. It would start becoming a problem if you don't win it too soon, and I'm glad I got mine.' More than 500 miles away in Co Clare, Keane claimed an emotional win at Lahinch, making a five-footer for birdie on the 18th green ringed by hundreds of local supporters to beat Dundalk's Caolan Rafferty one up and become the first local Lahinch member since watching his boyhood coach JD Smyth in 1968 to capture the coveted 'South'. "I don't know what to say," Keane reflected after a day when he beat Edmondstown's Liam Abom 2&1 in the semi-finals and 2018 champion Rafferty played the first five holes in five-under en route to a 5&3 win over Grange's Jake Whelan. "Absolutely delighted. This has been my dream since ever I joined this golf club, and for it to come true, it's absolutely unbelievable. Just thrilled. Thrilled.' Two up at the turn, Keane was just one up after 11 holes but after winning the 12th to go two up again, he lost the 15th and 16th. Pegged back to all square, there was a chance the dream could evaporate but after making a nerveless eight-footer for par at the 17th to remain all flat, he drilled a 240 yard five-iron to 50 feet at the 18th and two putted for birdie and victory as Rafferty failed to get up and down from short of the green. He dropped his putter and put his hands over his eyes in disbelief as his father, Johnny, and mother, Mary, ran onto the 18th green to envelop him in an emotional embrace. Chaired from the green by his supporters, he recalled afterwards how he was out of the game for nearly three years with a back injury. But thanks to medical attention from two Lahinch Golf Club members, doctors Gerry O'Sullivan and Conor O'Brien, and seven months of strength and conditioning work with former champion Robbie Cannon, he came back stronger than ever in 2023 before going on to achieve his dream. "I have to give credit to those three men there for helping me come back from that injury," he said as mentor Smyth gave him some final words of advice before he headed out to make the sweetest of victory speeches. It was also a special day for England's Lottie Woad, who closed with a four-under 68 to win the ISPS HANDA Scottish Women's Open and her first LPGA Tour title on her professional debut. 'Yeah, I think it's quite hard to do that, but very special to win in my first event,' said Woad, who romped to a six-shot win in the KPMG Women's Irish Open as an amateur last month. She won by three shots on 21 under from Korea's Hyo Joo Kim while Leona Maguire shot 71 to tie for 16th in six under heading into this week's AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl.
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Jonathan Keane chasing home glory as Caolan Rafferty eyes second South of Ireland victory at Lahinch
The Kilfenora schoolteacher (25) faces Edmondstown's Liam Abom (22) for a place in the final against Grange's Jake Whelan (30) or Dundalk's Caolan Rafferty (32) with the entire club pulling for him at the west Clare links. While his father has dozens of trophies for showing his prize cattle, Keane has yet to trouble the trophy engravers, but he's hoping to at least give himself a shot at the title. 'We've loads of the silverware at home but nothing for golf,' joked Keane, who gave up the accordion and the chance to add to Kilfenora's traditional music tradition to focus on his golf. He certainly has the game and the grit to go all the way. He played excellent golf to beat Galway veteran Joe Lyons 5&4 in the third round before relying on his short game to see off the highly experienced Carton House man Paul O'Hanlon 2&1 in the afternoon. Just one up with seven to play, he got up and down on the 12th for a birdie to double his lead, lost the 13th to a birdie three, but got up and down again on the 14th for a half before repeating the trick to win the 15th and 16th with pars. A two-putt par got him over the line on the 17th, and he admits becoming the first local member to win since JD Smyth in 1968 would be like winning a major. 'It'd be great to win it after him,' said Keane, who joined the club in 2011 and first saw the final in 2015 when Stuart Grehan beat Colin Fairweather in a downpour. 'He used to coach me when I was younger. I have to give credit to him now for the up and downs. He really was a short game wizard.' As for winning the title, he knows he can't get ahead of himself against Abom, who made seven birdies to edge out East of Ireland champion David Howard by two holes in his quarter-finals. 'It would mean everything,' Keane said. 'I got to the quarters of the West this year and lost to Dylan Holmes, who was unbelievable. 'But I've been playing decent there with the last four or five months this year, so as always, I will just try and one shot at a time and give it 100 per cent, and whatever happens after that, you can't really do too much about it.' Abom had to dig deep to beat the talented Roganstown teenager, Mark Cadden, one-up in the morning. Howard denied him a fraternal quarter-final clash with his younger brother Thomas, the reigning Irish Close champion, with a win on the 20th in the last 16 and he's keen now to earn some family bragging rights by winning a 'major' himself. 'I'd say that was my best performance,' Abom said of his birdie blitz against Howard. 'I feel like I'm playing freely and I'm not worried about the consequences as much.' Keane or Abom will face a quality player in the final as 2018 champion Rafferty meets another superb ball-striker in Whelan in the other semi-final. 'He's one of the best in Ireland, if not the best,' said Whelan, a former Mullingar Scratch Cup winner, after notching solid 2&1 wins over Connemara's Luke O'Neill and Ballybofey and Stranorlar's Ryan Griffin. 'He does everything well, and he's been one of the top one or two players in the country now for five or six years.' Whelan feels he's a far better and more mature player now than he was in 2019, when he lost 5&3 to Keith Egan in the semi-finals and he knows what will take to win. 'Everyone here can play, so I'm just going to have to shoot a good few under tomorrow and see where that leaves me,' he said. Former Walker Cup player Rafferty has won the South, East and West of Ireland titles, but while he never tires of winning, fatherhood is now a priority. 'Every championship is the same, it's the best feeling ever,' Rafferty said after a brace of 5&3 wins over Monkstown's Sean Desmond and Athenry's David Kitt. 'That's why we play golf. This will be a wee bit more special, being the first one that the child will be here. 'No pressure, it's another day of golf and just see what happens… Just let the clubs hit the ball and find it and hit it again.' Pierse Motor Group South of Ireland Amateur Open Championship, Lahinch Third round Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk) bt Seán Desmond (Monkstown) 5/3; David Kitt (Athenry) bt Jordan Hood (Galgorm Castle) 19th; Ryan Griffin (Ballybofey & Stranorlar) bt Dylan Holmes (Greystones) 21st; Jake Whelan (Grange) bt Luke O'Neill (Connemara) 2/1; Jonathan Keane (Lahinch) bt Joe Lyons (Galway) 5/4; Paul O'Hanlon (Carton House) bt Conor Stapleton (Westport) 2/1; David Howard (Fota Island) bt Thomas Abom (Edmondstown) 20th Liam Abom (Edmondstown) bt Mark Cadden (Roganstown) 1 up Quarter-finals Rafferty bt Kitt (Athenry) 5/3; Whelan bt Griffin 2/1; Keane (Lahinch) bt O'Hanlon 2/1; L Abom bt Howard 2 up.
Irish Independent
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Matt McClean five strokes off lead and heading Irish challenge at Lytham Trophy
The Malone international (31) carded a one-over 71 to share 17th place, just five strokes behind England's Jackson Garnett, whose 66 gave him a one-shot lead over Wales' Matt Roberts and Italy's Michele Ferrero. Connemara's Luke O'Neill and Edmondstown's Thomas Abom were 25th after 72s while Dundalk's Caolan Rafferty shot 73 to share 41st with Royal Dublin's Jack McDonnell and Athenry's David Kitt, who had a hole-in-one at the ninth. The top 40 and ties after today's second round make the cut for tomorrow's final 36 holes. Co Sligo's Aodhagan Brady and Warrenpoint's Colm Campbell shot 74, Grange's Jake Whelan a 75 and Edmondstown's Liam Abom and Charleville's Jordan Boles a brace of 76s to give themselves a chance . However, Roscommon's Simon Walker and Millicent's Brian Doran likely have too much to do after respective rounds of 82 and 84. Meanwhile, Castleknock's Paul Coughlan will defend his title in the C20 Group Munster Men's Stroke Play Amateur Open at Cork Golf Club today. Coughlan captured his first championship crown last season and will look to draw on that experience this weekend. 'That was my first championship one. I had a couple of runners-up and near misses as well,' Coughlan said. 'It was nice to get one over the line.' A 75-strong field, which includes newly crowned West of Ireland champion Dylan Holmes (18) from Greystones, will play 36 holes today with the top 30 and ties qualifying for tomorrow's final two rounds.
