Jonathan Keane choked back the tears as he named his father Johnny and mother Mary and tried on the green blazer as he prepared officially hoist the Pierse Motor Group South of Ireland as the first home winner for 57 years.
His mentor JD Smyth, who was the last local Lahinch member to pull off the feat in 1968, was by his side offering advice on the victory speech.
It was an emotional end to a long, painful road for the 25-year-old second school teacher from Kilfenora, and the start of a magical new journey that continued with an international call up, as he recounted how he overcame a crippling back injury that almost ended his career.
He birdied the last to beat Dundalk’s. Caolan Rafferty one up and spark joyous scenes in Lahinch, where hundreds had given up the chance to watch Kerry win the All-Ireland Football title, or Pádraig Harrington claim the Senior Open.
Keane was emotional at the finish as he hugged his trusty caddie Noel Sexton, fell into an emotional embrace with his parents and supporters and then thrust his arms in the air as he was chaired from the green in triumph. But what of the injury that kept him out of golf for almost three years?
“I got injured at the start of COVID,” he recounted. “I was doing a lot of practice. I kind of got into the mindset of trying to drive the ball an absolute mile — the Bryson DeChambeau effect.
“I was doing an awful lot of gym work, but I had nothing to do during COVID, so I used to go down to the beach and 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. It was very bad, and I was about two and a half years without any golf. I tried every sort of a thing. I didn’t want to go down the route of surgery, and after about three years of being out of the game, I finally got back into it about two weeks before the South in 2023.”
What happened before that is a testament to the network at Lahinch Golf Club, the efforts of members Dr Gerry O’Sullivan and Dr Conor O’Brien to find a solution and the strength and conditioning expertise of former South of Ireland champion, Robbie Cannon.
“Your mind is just thinking, will I ever golf again, because some nights you’d be waking up with pain and couldn’t fall asleep,” Keane said. “So it’s just unbelievable now that I’ve come back from that and managed to win the competition I’ve always dreamt of.”
Getting back to full fitness was no easy feat.
“I tried a few things and they had failed, but Gerry O’Sullivan and Conor O’Brien came together. Conor O’Brien brought me up to Galway clinic and identified a nerve that was in trouble.
“I got an epidural injection into my lower back that kind of numbed the pain for a while. And then during that time, I went up to Robbie, and we got a strength and conditioning plan, so gym work, and I kept at that.
“I must have kept at it for about seven months and then I finally got back playing. So I have to give credit to those three men there for helping me come back from that injury.”
Keane shot rounds of 82 and 78 at Lahinch to miss the cut comfortably in the 2023 South of Ireland. But he slowly recovered and started to show his potential this year, reaching the quarter-finals of the West of Ireland.
It all came together when he beat Edmondstown’s Liam Abom 2&1 in the semi-finals and went on to secure a memorable win over Caolan Rafferty in the final.
Pegged back to all square with two holes to play, 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.
“I don’t know what to say, really,” he said afterwards. “Absolutely delighted.
“As I was saying, 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.”
Pierse Motor Group South of Ireland Amateur Open Championship, Lahinch
Semi-finals: Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk) beat Jake Whelan (Grange) 5/3; Jonathan Keane (Lahinch) beat Liam Abom (Edmondstown) 2/1.
Final: Keane beat Rafferty 1 up.
