When you are ranked 1678th in the world reasons to celebrate are slim to none so Alex Maguire can be forgiven for producing more emotion for making the cut than the winner of the Amgen Irish Open might.
Maguire celebrated jubilantly after tapping in for birdie on 18. So fervent was his joy over securing a potentially life changing weekend at the K Club that he accidentally threw his cap back onto the green where it landed beside the ball marker of Zander Lombard who was studying an eight footer to make the cut.
“That’s probably one of the most embarrassing things I have ever done!” laughed Maguire who carded a rollercoaster 72 for a two-under total, two shots inside the cut mark.
Maguire produced one of the most entertaining stretches of golf, making a miracle birdie on 16 after blocking his tee shot 60 yards right before another wild block cost him a lost ball but he managed to salvage another heroic bogey. A first fairway found since the 13th set up a routine two-putt eagle on the last and after catching a glimpse of his father in the crowd, the emotion came flooding out.
“It was more a case of I looked over and saw my Dad and thought this is great,” said a tearful Maguire who has been on a difficult journey since turning pro last year, making less than €6,000 in eight HotelPlanner Tour starts this term.
Friends and family trudged through the torrential rain of Thursday and were there in their droves again early on Friday morning. This is a week that means everything.
“Seeing him and everyone, it’s great. I don’t want to get too emotional, I’m not leading. But it’s big for them, they go through the same lows I do. I do this for me but I do it for them too. That is why my hat went miles and nearly distracted my playing partner. It was pretty embarrassing but it meant a lot.”
After coming back early on Friday morning to finish his last hole of round one, the Laytown and Bettystown man caught fire early in round two with an eagle on the par-5 4th to get to four-under. A bad break on ten cost him a bogey but despite some erratic tee shots coming home he managed to compose himself and make it to the weekend.
“What a finish is right in both aspects! I think I need to work on off the tee, probably selling myself short, everything else is great just being too defensive off the tee trying to not hit it on one side of the golf course because the tee shots are so challenging.
“If I can improve on that, the rest of my game is holding up pretty well and I can make a run at the weekend.”
Maguire insists that he is running his own race. But making the rent has been a difficult task this year as he has struggled for form playing for peanuts on the Clutch Pro tour while HotelPlanner Tour opportunities have largely slipped through his fingertips.
Even so much as a participation ribbon this weekend would help with the kitty.
“I don’t know what last place gets but that would be more than what I’ve earned and one of my biggest cheques. Every shot counts. If I am standing on the 18th on Sunday completely out of it a birdie could go a long way for me. I’m running my own race.
“If I can stay in my own lane. Funds go low pretty fast especially when you are playing for very small prize funds on the Clutch Pro Tour, if you finish 10th you get 800 quid that doesn’t even cover expenses for the week. It’s tough for sponsors to keep supporting you if you don’t have the results all of a sudden they go with someone else and you lose ten to twenty grand.
“I’m not the only one in this position because so many gets amateurs turn pro and don’t make it. If everybody had 200 grand to spend they would all make it.
“Making it to the weekend is worth more than money for me.”
Maguire can’t take full credit for his heroics. Taking on John Mulrooney as a caddie looks a shrewd addition as he helped keep him mentally strong when previously he may have wilted.
The pair are together for the first time this week and Maguire admits he is indebted to the experience of the Bray caddie who was on the bag for Darren Clarke’s Open Championship win in 2011.
“That’s where he comes into play. What I really noticed was when I hit a tee shot yesterday on 7 we were rushing to get in before the dark. I wanted to get that tee shot out of the way and I got way too ahead of myself and hit a bad tee shot right. He just told me to slow down ‘you have these two boys to hit then it is your turn to hit’ it was so simple but just being able to calm me down.
“As soon as I lost that ball on 17 he said ‘let’s make three with this ball on 17’ and that got me into a great frame of mind. I know I am good enough to be able to caddie myself but with an event of this stature I wanted someone to hold my hand through the hard times because the easy times are fine. The hard times are why he’s been out here and he’s won an Open before.
“I think if the second tee shot was in the trees I would have been a lot more flustered. That tee shot is horrible so I just said move on and make birdie with this. He got me into a great frame of mind and hopefully I can lean on him.
“I was in a spot of bother on 16, good thing John was able to step it out and I got lucky that I could hit my second over the trees. I was full sure that I would have to re-tee again. I got really lucky. I hit the best nine iron of my life into 3-feet there because I knew standing on 17 on the cut line makes it harder so it was nice to birdie and get a cushion.”
At the time of writing, Maguire is 30th on the leaderboard which in itself would be a big payday on Sunday. Having no worries of the cut line might free him up to put two rounds in the 60s together.
It’s a weekend of endless possibilities for the novice but one which he is relishing. After finally catching a break in the game he is eager to grasp it with both hands.
“How am I dealing with it? I don’t really know. I’m really optimistic, it’s the biggest event in Ireland and the biggest on the European Tour,” said the former Walker Cup player and a winner of two East of Irelands, a North of Ireland and a St Andrews Links Trophy.
“I can get to that height, it’s not a fluke I am playing lovely and playing steady. Now I’m settled and the cut isn’t on my mind so hopefully tomorrow can be a great day for me.
“The goal was to try get a tee time with Rory. If we both scrape into the weekend it would be a treat to be with him. Even just seeing him around like I walked off the 9th with my coach and you could tell where Rory was (on the range) you could just see the size of the crowd, so it is really cool to be involved in an event where he, Shane, Padraig and the Irish guys are.
“I want my life to change I want my life to go as well as possible. I want to make money. I want to have status on the DP World Tour, this is where I want to be. I am ready for this.”
Bettystown will be central to goings on in Irish sport this weekend. Ireland’s World Cup hopes will likely hinge on the performances of youngster Evan Ferguson.
“I wouldn’t really know him but I used to be in school with his sister Ellie, we were very good friends in class. It’s great to see him doing well. Hopefully when I go to Rome he will give me a ticket,” smiled Maguire.
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