Every Irish amateur has one championship they would love to win. Last year Caolan Rafferty clinched the East of Ireland Amateur Championship in circumstances rarely seen at County Louth Golf Club.
Rory McIlroy threw away and won the Masters at equal measure at Augusta National. Rafferty went through similar emotions as he tried to get over the line at his home championship after back to back years of heartbreak.
Leading by two going down the 72nd hole, the Dundalk clubman’s third looked destined to land safely on the green before an unlucky bounce sent him into a swale short left of the green. The clumsiest of three putt bogeys from there left the door open for Max Kennedy to force extra holes and left Rafferty’s head scrambling.
After two playoff defeats in a row to Alex Maguire in 2022 and 2023, Rafferty fully believed that he had thrown it away again. He left the 18th green to stunned silence from the packed crowd and they were equally baffled when Kennedy failed to birdie 18 and extend the championship.
At long last, the trophy was in Rafferty’s hands and it was more a feeling of relief than delight for the 2019 GB&I Walker Cup star.
“I got so close for a couple of years then obviously last year with the finish I didn’t cover myself in much glory,” laughs the Irish international.
“Just where it is and the members make you feel at home with how close I live to Baltray. I know a lot of people up there. It feels like a home championship and a home club, they are so good to me whenever I am up there. To get a win 20 minutes up the road was a nice one.
“I didn’t know the score. I just said to my caddie to shoot the lowest score I can shoot and got it going. I got a bad bounce with the third shot on 18, my head was mush after that. I made a bad putt and then a weak effort at par and made bogey. I was only one ahead at the time and I thought Max would birdie 18.
“I was fuming that I had thrown it away again and I thought we would go to a playoff and obviously the heartbreak the year before in a playoff will be in the back of your mind. I remember going to the scorers tent, handing in the card and lying on a bank of grass thinking what am I after doing? 18 hasn’t been a good hole to me in the past, never has been so hopefully I can get my head around it this year.
“I didn’t know how to react because you never want to win a tournament by somebody missing something either, you don’t want to see someone lose a tournament.
“It was only when Max got to the tent and word got out that it got to sink in and it was honestly one of the best feelings ever.
“You always want to go back and give a good account of yourself and try and hold on to it. Hopefully with less stress than last year! “
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