O'Neill lifts Irish Under 16 title thanks to closing birdie hat-trick
Gavin O'Neill (Malahide) winner of the 2020 Irish Boys Under 16 Amateur Open Championship at Lurgan Golf Club today (20/08/2020). Picture by Pat Cashman
Malahide's Gavin O'Neill birdied his last three holes to win the Irish Under 16 Boys Championship at Lurgan.
The 16-year-old, who led the Irish U18 Championship after the opening round at Thurles last week, signed off with a hat-trick of birdies to close with a level par 70 and pip Roganstown’s Sean Keeling by a shot on one-over 141.
Winner (right) Gavin O'Neill (Malahide) pictured with Sean Keeling (Roganstown) winner of the under 15 trophy after the final round of the 2020 Irish Boys Under 16 Amateur Open Championship at Lurgan. Picture by Pat Cashman
Keeling picked up the Under 15 trophy as he shot a brace of 71’s as Belvoir Park’s Darcy Hogg finished third on four-over after two 74’s.
Keen for championship golf to resume, O'Neill had been itching to play competitive golf again following the COVID-19 lockdown
"It's been a long break between last summer and this, but I've been playing in the Portmarnock Summer Series, a few open competitions and trying to get a bit of competitive golf back in before these [championships] kick off again," he said last week at Thurles.
Runner up in two Under 16 championships last year, the Leinster U16 Close at Ashbourne and the Connacht U16 Boys Open in Galway Bay, O'Neill was looking to make his mark this season and he has done that in style.
Three-over par after his opening six holes, O'Neill clawed one back on the seventh with a birdie. That settled things for him until he took bogey on the 15th. Needing a strong finish he dug deep, with a 3-2-4 finish for his first championship win.
East Clare's Eoin Magill moved up 21 places on the leaderboard with a closing 71 to claim fourth place on six-over 146.
Irish Under 16 Boys Championship, Lurgan Golf Club (Par 70)
141 G O'Neill (Malahide) 71 70
142 S Keeling (Roganstown) 71 71 (U15 Trophy Winner)
144 D Hogg (Belvoir Park) 72 72
146 E Magill (East Clare) 75 71
147 S McLoughlin (Co. Sligo) 73 74, A Challoner (Galway Bay) 72 75
148 L Cunningham (Galway Bay) 74 74, C Ward (Carton House) 73 75, A Buchanan (Malone) 72 76
149 A King (Faithlegg) 73 76, C Kelly (Athlone) 73 76, J Foley (Elm Park) 72 77
150 F Dobbin (Malone) 75 75
151 A Brady (Co. Sligo) 76 75, P Keeling (Roganstown) 76 75, J Walsh (Kinsale) 74 77, N Bickerstaff (Massereene) 74 77, J Kelly (Dun Laoghaire) 73 78, C Scullion (Moyola Park) 73 78
152 M O Sullivan (Ballyneety) 73 79
153 J Mitten (Westmanstown) 76 77, L Lyons (Limerick) 76 77, M Carson (Royal Belfast) 75 78, R McClelland (Holywood) 73 80
154 E MacIndoe (Killarney) 71 83
155 Z Collins (Muskerry) 76 79, B Lupton-Smith (Bray) 75 80, B O Neill (Waterford) 75 80
157 C Flavin (Youghal) 76 81, P Gogarty (Laytown & Bettystown) 75 82
158 R O'Shea (Elm Park) 74 84
160 G Craigan (Malone) 75 85
DQ J Strang (Royal Portrush) 71 DQ