Dylan Keating showed nerves of steel to claim the North of Ireland Men’s Amateur Open Championship with a dramatic one-shot victory at Royal Portrush.
The Seapoint golfer secured the first Irish men’s championship of his career just one month after winning the Ian Bamford Scratch Trophy at the same venue.
“To do it here is incredible,” said Keating.
“It’s the best course in the world. The condition of it and the scenery. I feel like it’s nearly home here after my couple of wins. I just love it here”
Keating opened with a one-under-par 71 on Wednesday before a superb second round 69 gave the 23-year-old the overnight lead at four-under-par after carding the only under-par round of day two.
With conditions improving for the closing day, the chasing pack began to close in during Friday morning’s third round. Keating carded a one-over 73, opening the door for the leading contenders.
Patrick Curran (Edmondstown) was one of those to take advantage. Six birdies helped him to a superb three-under 69, moving him to within two shots of the lead heading into the final round.
Playing in the penultimate two-ball alongside James Hewitt (Tandragee), Curran made a blistering start to the afternoon. An eagle on the Par 5 second applied early pressure to the leader. With Keating opening with a bogey in the group behind, Curran quickly moved into the lead as he followed up with a birdie on 3.
Keating’s challenge suffered a further setback with a triple bogey at 4 and a double at 7, while Curran continued to look composed at the top of the leaderboard.
“I put it in the Dunluce Lodge off seven and then hit my next one left and then missed a short one,” said Keating.
“I just had to stay patient. I knew there was going to be some chances coming up.”
The Seapoint golfer took those chances with birdies at 9, 11 and 12 helping him battle back into contention as he closed the gap on Curran.
The pair were tied at two-under thru 15 holes, having separated themselves from the chasing pack as the championship headed towards a dramatic finish.
Calamity Corner once again lived up to its name when Curran bogeyed the Par 3 16th to drop back to one-under. Moments later, Keating produced the decisive moment of the championship, driving the green at 17 before converting his birdie putt to retake the outright lead.
A closing par at the 18th would see Keating finish at two-under-par to secure the biggest victory of his amateur career, completing a remarkable turnaround having suffered two heavy blows early in the final round.
“I remembered how I was down the stretch in the scratch cup here to birdie the last and win,” said Keating.
“I trusted myself and my coach Shane reminded me that I won a lot of Boys’ tournaments and I was great down the stretch. I leaned on that and reminded myself that going down the stretch I can make a couple of birdies and clutch up to get the win. I’ve done that today and I’m really proud of myself.”
