Alex Maguire has admitted that his sensational summer where he won twice, played in the Open Championship, the Irish Open and the Walker Cup fast tracked his decision to turn professional earlier than expected.
Maguire enjoyed a superb 2023 season, successfully defending the East of Ireland title before a blistering final round of 64 at the Old Course saw him coast to the St Andrews Links Trophy which helped secure his professional and major debut at the Open Championship via winning the Open Amateur Series.
The Laytown & Bettystown star played his way onto the Irish European Championships side and the Home Internationals before booking a return to St Andrews in September after earning a place on the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team, the pinnacle of amateur golf.
“I’m very excited to be honest. It will be a new world but I am still playing golf so it won’t be too different but obviously being on my own travelling instead of with the team, management and all the things that come with being a pro will take time to get used to but it’s a very exciting time,” explained the Florida Atlantic University graduate who had just passed his final exam in his International Business major.
“I’m still eligible for college golf until the end of next semester, so I planned on graduating and playing golf until next May to stay in the US. This summer definitely fast tracked it, the year I have had, I got into everything. If you said to me at the start of the year what could you play in, if time wasn’t a factor, and everything I listed out is what I got into.
“Once the Open came around I had my eyes set on turning pro as fast as I could but I wasn’t going to not get my degree, my parents would have been pretty angry! I wanted to have my degree and feel like I achieved something outside of golf but this year has definitely changed my plans on when I was going to turn pro.”
Maguire earned Category 8 membership for next season’s Alps Tour at Q-School recently but can also look forward to a handful of starts on the Challenge Tour and he is confident that he can climb the tour ladder.
The 22-year-old will dip his toe into the pro ranks in Portugal where he will spend the new year training in Quinta Do Lago and playing on the Portugal Pro Golf Tour.
“I’m pretty confident I can get the full allocation on the Challenge Tour, I want to play eight events and I have a few Alps Tour starts that I can use to prepare for Challenge Tour. My main goal is to play well in those starts, get top-10s and carry on invites into the following weeks and try get a full card on the order of merit.
“I feel like as much as I played good golf this year, my attitude and mindset has got me to where I am. I’m a strong character on the course, I don’t let things affect me for the most part and I stick to my process as much as I can. Turning pro you are put back into the deep end and I am confident in myself that I can make my way up the ladder and get a full card on the main tour in the next few years.”
Leave a comment