Irish Amateur Close Championship: Teenage star Rory McIlroy took another big stride towards a place in the Walker Cup team for the August test in Chicago when he became the youngest winner of the Golfsure Irish Close Championship at Westport yesterday.
The Holywood, Co Down, youth, who turned 16 last month, defeated Cavan's Eddie McCormack, who is now playing out of Galway, by 3 and 2 after eliminating Connor Doran from Banbridge by 4 and 3 in the semi-finals. McIlroy beat Ronan Rafferty's 1980 record of being the youngest winner by six months.
Throughout the championship, McIlroy played like a veteran, showing calmness and resilience that is not usually connected with such a young player. Falling behind was never a problem, nor was an opponent threatening to take a grip of a match.
McCormack went one up in the final at the fifth hole, after the fourth was shared in birdies, but from the seventh the new champion rattled off four wins to move into control. McCormack was unlucky at the seventh hole as his drive was first flagged in play but then found to be out-of-bounds. He then put his second into water and finally conceded the par five hole as McIlroy was on in two with a birdie chance.
The winner got up and down for wins at eight and nine and, after McCormack was in trouble again at the 10th, where he put his tee-shot into a drain and had to drop out, McIlroy took that hole with another conceded birdie. He missed a par putt from five feet to lose the 11th, won the 12th, lost the 13th, when he again missed a putt for par, but went three up once more at the short 14th, where he rifled a four-iron into the green.
Before playing his second shot to the 15th, McIlroy's contact lens fell out and in the wind he had to get shelter to insert it again. The incident didn't stop his gallop to success, however, as he halved that hole and the next to end the argument.
"It has been a pretty gruelling week and I feel shattered but extremely happy," said McIlroy. "I'm really happy with the way I played, and coming back from one down to Michael Brett at the turn in the third round was, I believe, the key to victory.
"After nine holes today I was just trying to get the match over with as I felt tired, and now I'm heading home to get a good rest," said the first Holywood member to win the title.
He is also the first player to win the West of Ireland and Irish Close Championships in the same year since Garth McGimpsey completed that double in 1988.
At present, McIlroy holds five titles, with the Irish Youths, Irish Boys and Ulster Boys trophies in his cabinet, alongside the West and Close silverware.
Next step is the Youth international match against Scotland at Portumna on June 22nd, then the European Team Championship and the Scottish Open, to which he got an invitation, and back home for then the North of Ireland Championship.
In the morning semi-finals, McIlroy made seven birdies in his round against Doran and finished six-under-par. Doran suffered food poisoning and got just four hours sleep during the night.
In the circumstances, he played well to last for 15 holes.
In the other semi-final, Cavan printer McCormack, the surprise packet of the week, overcame Aengus McAllister of Portmarnock 3 and 2, but failed to write his own headlines in the final.
IRISH CLOSE CHAMPIONSHIP (at Westport) - Semi-finals: R McIlroy (Holywood) bt C Doran (Banbridge) 4 and 3; E McCormack (Galway) bt A McAllister (Portmarnock) 3 and 2.
Final: McIlroy bt McCormack 3 and 2.
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