Gary goes close in Irish Amateur Open

HUGE congratulations to Gary McDermott for his performance in the Irish Amateur Open Championship at wet and windy Royal Dublin.

Gary led the field for three days before falling short by two shots on the last day to finish tied for second. Still, this was an immense achievement in a top class field of international golfers. Sunday’s final round was a story of what might have been and a missing scoreboard …

Gary four-putted the seventh for an expensive double bogey but still came to the last only one shot off the lead, needing a birdie to go into a play-off. Unfortunately, Gary didn’t know he needed the birdie as there was no scoreboard revealing how the lead was lying. Gary’s chip fell short and he two-putted for bogey.

“I suppose when people were staying away from me, I thought that meant I was in control. But hindsight is 20-20. It would have been  nice to have known or had some scoreboards out there but it was not to be. It certainly doesn’t have an impact on the whole day.”

Reflecting on the last hole, Gary admitted he would have taken more club to chase that elusive birdie.

The championship winner was Jamie Savage of Scotland.