Connemara golfer Luke O’Neill says it will be surreal seeing his name on the Mullingar Scratch Trophy after he claimed the title on Bank Holiday Monday.
The Galway man began the day just two shots off the lead but he crept up the standings after a 68 in Round 3 and finished things off with another 68 in the afternoon for an outstanding -13 total.
Evan Farrell (County Louth) bogeyed the last three holes to see his challenge fade and Jack Hearn (Tramore) ended up in second, he was four shots behind the brilliant O’Neill who joins a star-studded list of winners.
“It’s definitely up there, I’ll have to check. I won an event in America last year but for Irish it’s the biggest definitely up there just because you see the names of McIlroy and Harrington and all them on it. It’s pretty surreal,” said O’Neill.
“It’s one that at the start of the year you want to win. All the major champions have won it. It’s stroke play on a good golf course. It hasn’t really sunk in yet because I’m just off the high of finishing it off.”
Farrell made much of the early running and he was the leader after Round 1, with O’Neill just one shot in arrears. Hearn and Farrell were tied for the lead at the end of play on Sunday and while Farrell backed that up with a 69 this morning, Hearn fell away slightly.
That opened the door for O’Neill who moved up to second, he had five birdies on his card as his confidence grew and shot six birdies in Round 4 meaning he could finish with back-to-back bogeys and still seal the win.
O’Neill, who won the Colleton River Collegiate in USA last year, has added another big title this time in Ireland and will look to climb the Bridgestone Order of Merit as a result.
“Today I just played nicely and putted a lot better than yesterday,” said O’Neill.
“I knew I needed to clean up a few things after yesterday. Went out and took a lot of notes after missing six and eight footers on the two rounds yesterday.
“I cleaned up those today and had two solid 68s.”
Scores after the Final Round
| 1 | Luke O'Neill Connemara |
-13 |
| 2 | Jack Hearn Tramore |
-9 |
| 3 | Evan Farrell Co. Louth |
-8 |
| 4 | TJ Ford County Sligo |
-6 |
| 5 | Eoin Sullivan Portmarnock |
-5 |
| 6 | Quentin Carew Castleknock |
-4 |
| 7 | Jack McDonnell Forrest little |
-3 |
| 8 | Matthew Giles Greenore |
-2 |
| T9 | Ryan Griffin Rosapenna |
-1 |
| T9 | Paul Coughlan Castleknock |
-1 |
| T9 | Lee O'Meara Tullamore |
-1 |
| T9 | Richard Knightly Royal Dublin |
-1 |
| T9 | David Howard Fota island |
-1 |
| T14 | Matthew Grehan Tullamore |
E |
| T14 | Graham Donohoe Enniscorthy |
E |
| T14 | AJ McCabe Malahide |
E |
| T17 | Ian Lynch Rosslare |
+1 |
| T17 | Keith Egan Carton House |
+1 |
| T17 | Alex King Faithlegg |
+1 |
| T17 | Dylan Keating Seapoint |
+1 |
| T17 | Liam Abom Edmondstown |
+1 |
| T17 | David Kitt Athenry |
+1 |
| T17 | Cian Harkin Letterkenny |
+1 |
| T17 | Robert Galligan Elm Park |
+1 |
| 25 | Sam Murphy Portumna |
+2 |
| T26 | Gary Collins Rosslare |
+3 |
| T26 | Dean O’ Riordan Fermoy |
+3 |
| T28 | Jake Foley Elm Park |
+4 |
| T28 | Colin Cunningham Carton House Golf Club |
+4 |
| T28 | Jason Rackard Bunclody |
+4 |
| T28 | Adam Smith Mullingar |
+4 |
| T32 | Allan Kiernan Forrest little |
+5 |
| T32 | Josh McCabe Roganstown |
+5 |
| T32 | Colin Woodroofe Dun laoghaire |
+5 |
| T32 | Jamie Butler Killeen |
+5 |
| T32 | Conor Hickey Dooks |
+5 |
| T37 | Brandon St John Portmarnock |
+7 |
| T37 | Morgan Cain Cork |
+7 |
| T39 | Jonathan Keane Lahinch |
+8 |
| T39 | Rory Williamson Holywood |
+8 |
| 41 | Robert Walsh Douglas |
+10 |
| 42 | Evan Shipp Headfort |
+12 |
| 43 | James Hewitt Tandragee |
+13 |
| 44 | David Keenaghan Mullingar |
+21 |
| WD | Jordan Hood Galgorm Castle |
- |
