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Irish Independent
a day 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 Examiner
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Kilfenora's Jonathan Keane ends Lahinch's 57-year wait for South of Ireland winner
They say it takes a village, and it was never more fitting in the case of Jonathan Keane, as he overcame a serious back injury with the help of two Lahinch members and a former champion to become the first home winner of the Pierse Motor Group South of Ireland title in 57 years. The 25-year-old Kilfenora schoolteacher completed a magical week over the famous west Clare dunes, rolling in a five-footer for a closing birdie to beat Dundalk's Caolan Rafferty one up and follow in the footsteps of his watching boyhood coach JD Smyth, who was the last Lahinch man to win the title in 1968. Keane 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. "I felt good over it because I have had that putt loads of times before, that back left pin," Keane said. "Just knew what to do. I wasn't feeling any nerves; I was feeling 100% confident. It was just a shock for about five seconds." The 18th was ringed with hundreds of spectators as Keane was chaired in victory by his supporters in a scene that summed up the magic of amateur golf at a venue that will host the Walker Cup next year. "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 as Rafferty confirmed his favouritism for the title by blitzing Grange's Jake Whelan 5&3 after playing the first five holes in five-under-par. "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." While overseas member Patrick Adler from Chicago won last year, several hundred locals turned out to watch one of their own lift the coveted trophy after a brilliant display of powerful hitting and sensational chipping and putting. He'd made two eagles and 24 birdies in five matchplay rounds to get to the final and did not let up when it mattered. All the hard work he did to recover from a herniated disc that kept him out of the game for nearly three years turned out to be worth its weight in gold. After the first two holes were halved in bogey-birdie figures, Keane birdied the third, then eagled the fourth from 35 feet to go two up. He had a chance from eight feet to go three up at the Dell, but while he missed that and lost the seventh to par after taking a penalty drop from deep rough, he won the eighth in par and turned two-up. Rafferty was spent after a gruelling week and both men made mistakes coming home. Rafferty won 11th in par, lost the 12th to Keane's birdie, failed to convert a slippery 10-footer for a win at the 13th and watched his rival get up and down from sand at the 14th to remain two up. It looked as though the tide would turn when Rafferty made a remarkable four at the 15th, flopping to a foot from heavy greenside rough, then hit to 12 feet at the 16th, where he was conceded the hole after Keane chunked into sand from heavy rough above the back left bunker. They were all square. Keane had been brilliant on and around the green all week and after Rafferty chipped close on the 17th, he cooly slotted home an eight footer for a half in fours to take the match to the last. Rafferty came up short in two, and with 240 yards to go and adrenaline pumping, Keane rifled a five iron to 50 feet and two putted for victory, dribbling in a five-footer for glory after his rival had chipped to the back fringe and missed his 15 footer. There were emotional scenes as the putt dropped, which was no surprise given Keane's battle with a back injury he picked up during COVID, when he had worked too hard in the gym and battered hundreds of balls on the beach without proper rest. "I was trying to drive the ball an absolute mile —the Bryson DeChambeau effect," he confessed. "I used to hit about 250 balls a day. And after about six months of doing that nonstop and doing too much gym, the body just gave up. "I had herniated discs in my lower back and it was very bad, and I couldn't play golf for two and a half years." Lahinch Golf Club stepped in to help, and thanks to two members — Dr Gerry O'Sullivan and Dr Conor O'Brien — Keane received the medical treatment he needed before embarking on a seven-month programme of strength and conditioning with former South of Ireland winner Robbie Cannon. He returned for the South in 2023 and put many sleepless painful nights behind him to achieve his dream yesterday, "I have to give credit to those three men there for helping me come back from that injury," he said. No wonder there were tears at the end of an epic, triumphant week for the amateur game. Pierse Motor Group South of Ireland Amateur Open Championship, Lahinch Semi-finals: Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk) bt Jake Whelan (Grange) 5/3; Jonathan Keane (Lahinch) bt Liam Abom (Edmondstown) 2/1. Final: Keane beat Rafferty 1 up.
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Keane dreaming of home glory as Rafferty eyes second South win
Lahinch's Jonathan Keane says it would "mean everything" to win the Pierse Motor Group South of Ireland, but he knows he must stick to the one-shot-at-a-time cliché if he's to make his dream come true. The Kilfenora man (25) gave up the accordion to focus on his golf, and while he faces a tough semi-final against Edmonstown's Liam Abom (22), he knows he has the local knowledge, the support and the game to make the final. Dundalk's Caolan Rafferty, the 2018 champion, is the hot favourite as he faces Grange's Jake Whelan, a former semi-finalist, in the other big match of the morning. But if former Walker Cup star Rafferty is the virtuoso performer, as he showed when reeling off a brace of 5&3 wins over Monkstown's Sean Desmond and Athenry's David Kitt, Keane showed he has the grit to go all the way. He played excellent golf to beat Galway veteran Joe Lyons 5&4 in the third round before using 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 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 winning a championship he first saw contested a decade ago would be like winning a major. While overseas member Patrick Adler, now a pro, won last year, Keane would be the first local member to win since JD Smyth in 1968. "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." Abom had to dig deep to beat the talented Roganstown teenager, Mark Cadden, one up in the morning, and it was a dogfight in a quality afternoon quarter-final with Fota Island's David Howard. He won by two holes, getting revenge for his younger brother Thomas' 20th-hole defeat to the Corkman in the morning. Thomas won the Irish Close last year and Liam admits it would be nice to claim back some bragging rights by going all the way this week. "I'd say that was my best performance," Abom said after making seven birdies against Howard with his birdie-birdie-par run from the 13th key to his win. "I feel like I'm playing freely and I'm not worried about the consequences as much." Fatherhood has made Rafferty a more mellow character, but he remains the man to beat, as Whelan explained after his 2&1 win over Donegal's Ryan Griffin. "He's one of the best in Ireland, if not the best," said Whelan (30), a former Mullingar Scratch Cup winner who is looking for his first championship win. "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 player now than he was in 2019, when he lost 5&3 to Keith Egan in the semi-finals. "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, believing that playing the course rather than the man is the best tactic. Rafferty has won the South, East and West of Ireland titles, but he never tires of winning, "Every championship is the same, it's the best feeling ever," he said. "That's why we play golf. This will be a wee bit more special, be the first one that the child will be here, to have that as well. So that's an addition to it this time." Having done it all in the amateur game, he's more relaxed than ever. "No pressure, it's another day of golf and just see what happens," he said. "I'm definitely playing less golf (as a father). "Probably a little bit uptight at times with golf like we all do. But no,nice and relaxed. 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: Raffertybt Kitt (Athenry) 5/3; Whelan bt Griffin 2/1; Keane (Lahinch) bt O'Hanlon 2/1; L Abom bt Howard 2 up. Sunday Semi-finals: 8:30 Rafferty vWhelan; 8:45 Keane v L Abom.
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Keating tops South qualifiers after overcoming rollercoaster college career
His uncle had a No.1 hit with Life Is a Rollercoaster but Seapoint's Dylan Keating was thrilled to get his career back on more level ground on home soil as he topped the qualifiers for the Pierse Motor Group South of Ireland Amateur Open Championship at a sun0-kissed Lahinch. The 23-year-old Drogheda talent hit the headlines as a 17-year-old teenager when he won Regional Qualifying for the Open at Baltray. His Uncle Ronan of Boyzone fame frequently gets a mention when he plays well but when officials joked that he had to sing a song from the club balcony for winning the silver medal after he asked if he had any responsibilities, he was happy to hit the high notes on the links. On a day when a light westerly wind led to some hot scoring, Keating added a four under 68 to his opening 69 to top the qualifiers by a shot on seven under. Dooks' Conor Hickey shot a sparkling 65, Tralee's Mark Gazi a 67, Ballybofey and Stranoloar's Ryan Griffin a 68 and Royal Dublin's Sean Downes a 72 to finish tied for second as just seven of the 14 players on two-over made the top 64 who qualified for the matchplay. Former champion Sean Desmond from Douglas was the last man in after a brace of 73s. But it was also an important day for Fota Island's David Howard, the East of Ireland champion, who needed to make the matchplay to keep alive his hopes of winning an automatic spot in the Irish team for next month's Home Internationals at Woodhall Spa via his top two berth in the Bridgestone Order of Merit. After opening with a 75, Howard was five over for the championship with six holes to play but covered them in four-under and shot 70 to make the matchplay with a shot to spare on one-over. He was only marginally less happy than Keating, who admitted he considered quitting the game during his stint at the University of Louisiana Lafayette. 'I felt like I was kind of under forming there for a long time, and to come back home playing well this year, not that I expected to shoot a score like that, it was nice,' Keating said. 'I wouldn't be shy to say it's been a tough last few years. I was in Houston last year and played an event, and I said to Mum and dad, I think that's it for me in golf. Just mentally, I was struggling. I wasn't keeping the ball on the planet. 'My iron play was bad, my driver was terrible, and even my putting left me for a while. 'When I'm home and comfortable, I think that's what brings out the best of me, and that's probably why I struggled in America, just being homesick constantly.' The former Boys international harboured dreams of turning professional for a while but he's put those plans on hold and while he admits it's 'a long shot' he's hoping to win some events and get himself on the selectors' radar for next year's Walker Cup at Lahinch. Making next year's Palmer Cup team on his home course Tralee is a goal for Gazi, who is at Northwestern University in Chicago and looking impressive in west Clare. The 19-year-old made eight birdies in his 67 in just his second South of Ireland appearance and hopes to make a run in the matchplay. 'I've done a lot of match play, especially playing Boys Home internationals,' said Gazi, who is travelling with Tralee's Darren O'Sullivan, who shot 67 to qualify in sixth place on five-under. 'Whoever you are playing, you've just goto to beat the man and make sure you do that. It doesn't matter how you do it, once you do.' Most of the leading lights, such as former winners Caolan Rafferty and Colm Campbell, made the cut with ease alongside veterans such as Douglas' Karl Bornemann (level par after two 72s) and Galway's Joe Lyons, who squeezed through in 63rd place after two 73s. Hickey, who was joint second on six-under, was delighted to make it after making life tough for himself after an opening 73. 'It was a pretty big improvement over yesterday, anyway,' the 24-year-old said after a round featuring seven birdies and an eagle three at the fourth. 'I hit a few nice shots coming in and birdied the 16th and 18th hopefully I am not out at the crack of dawn.'
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Donald Trump's Doonbeg links an Irish Open candidate
A deal is believed to be close, though the DP World Tour had no advance on its stance in May. 'We are looking at a number of venues for the 2026 Amgen Irish Open and will make any announcement on that in due course,' a spokesperson reiterated. Doonbeg is understood to be making plans to build several new tees over the winter that would add yardage to the links. The DP World Tour is on a two-week break before returning for the Nexo Championship at Trump International Golf Links, Aberdeen from August 7-10. US President Trump is making a private trip to Scotland on Friday to visit Trump Turnberry and his Aberdeenshire course. Doonbeg is just 20 miles from Lahinch, where Royal Portrush's Adam Buchanan and Royal Dublin's Seán Downes opened with six-under par 66s to lead the Pierse Motor Group South of Ireland Amateur Open Championship. They lead by a shot from Westport's Conor Stapleton and Castleknock's Quentin Carew in the battle to make the top 64 who qualify for the matchplay stages from tomorrow. On the PGA Tour, Séamus Power tees it up in the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Minnesota, looking to move closer to the top 100 in the FedEx Cup standings who will have full membership for 2026. Power is ranked 133rd after picking up points in just two of his last seven starts. He will be making just his third appearance at TPC Twin Cities, where he was tied 37th last year, and faces stiff opposition from Chris Gotterup and Wyndham Clark, third and tied fourth in The Open, for his third PGA Tour victory. There's just a week to go before the AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl, and Leona Maguire and Lauren Walsh will be looking to hone their games for that test in the ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open at Dundonald Links. The Scottish event marks the professional debut of England's Lottie Woad, the former world amateur No 1 who won the KPMG Women's Irish Open by six shots at Carton House before going to finish third in the Amundi Evian Championship. 'I am obviously very excited,' she said. 'I have been thinking about making my professional debut for a long time. Excited to do it more on home soil, as well. It's going to be really fun.' It's also a Major week for Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley and Pádraig Harrington, who play the ISPS HANDA Senior Open at Sunningdale.
