Joe Lyons (Galway) has already tasted individual success this season with victory at the Spanish Senior Men’s Championship but the Banagher man is hoping to claim silverware closer to home this week as he aims for victory at the Irish Senior Men’s Amateur Open Championship in Moyvalley.
The former Leinster and Ulster Senior Men’s champion will get his first round underway at 8.10 am tomorrow (WED) as he tees off alongside Stephen Browne (Hermitage) and home club hopeful Des Egan (Moyvalley).
Entering his third year in the senior ranks Lyons knows he has the game to compete at every tournament and comes to the Kildare venue in great form, following a recent third-place finish at the Munster Senior Men’s Championship.
“I think that any time I turn up at a senior event and I play my best I have a very good chance of winning, it’s as simple as that,” said Lyons.
“I don’t say that braggingly or boastfully that’s just a fact really, you know. If I play my best, I have a good chance of winning”.
The Offaly native narrowly missed out on taking home the title in 2023, just coming up short in a thrilling play-off against Tom Etridge (Sunningdale Golf Club). Since then, Lyons has played his way to his first-ever national individual title by winning the Irish Senior Men’s Close at Strandhill last July followed by his four-shot victory at the Spanish Senior Men’s Amateur Championship in Real Club Sevilla Golf in February.
While Lyons has put plenty of work in, getting ready for one of the biggest days on the Irish Seniors calendar, he finds it important to strike a balance in his preparations.
“I’ve done more preparation for this than I had for any other events but sometimes it’s trying to find the right balance, if you do too much you go there with huge expectations and the next thing you hit one or two bad shots and you’re wondering where did that come out of and you’re questioning your preparations,” said Lyons.
“I try to go to these events with an attitude isn’t it great to be here and meet some friends and play some good competitive golf”.
A 129-strong field boasts plenty of top contenders looking to take the crown including European Senior Champion Eddie McCormack (Galway Bay), Connacht Senior Champion John Reynolds (Mount Juliet) and 2022 Irish Senior Open Champion Jody Fanagan (Milltown).
“You try to just look at it as just another tournament but this is a title I’d love to win,” said Lyons. “It’s our biggest seniors event of the year in Ireland so it’s the one you want to win really. All we can do is give it our best shot and see how we go.”
The Irish Senior Men’s Amateur Open Championship gets underway on Wednesday morning with David Smith (Millicent), Paul Wharton (England) and Peter Sheehan (Ballybunion) set to get round one underway in Moyvalley at 7.30 am.
