“He’s only 24” said both the group scorer and Alex Maguire’s caddie after the Meath man learned the hard way on a challenging day at the Amgen Irish Open.
After the euphoria of making the cut and securing a few bucks to keep the landlord happy, Maguire was brought back down to earth on Saturday as he signed for a battling 73 and a one-under total at the K Club. Double bogeys on 7 and 15 put the blocks on his moving day and he suffered a double whammy on the 7th when his tee shot found the water and he was penalised further for taking an illegal drop.
Maguire dropped his ball but since he was still standing in the hazard he thought he hadn’t taken full relief and dropped again. Trying to do the right thing, the rookie pro learned a harsh lesson.
“That was my negligence,” said Maguire who has had two doubles on the 7th and three in total to take the gloss off the 12 birdies and an eagle he has made in 54 holes.
“That was pretty annoying. I took a drop and my understanding was – it’s never really happened to me before – just because the ball came from the hole and back in. I’ve never been on the line of a drop before. I dropped the ball and it rolled, I was standing fully in the hazard so I dropped it again and then I was like ‘hang on, does the ball have to be in the hazard or me?’
“I was fully sure I had to take full relief, my foot was touching the red line. I thought if anything is in the hazard then I haven’t taken proper relief so I didn’t want to do anything wrong. I didn’t want to re-drop it because I had a great lie then I ended up doing something wrong.
“If the ball is in play then it doesn’t matter where you are standing, it is annoying but I made a really good six.”
After some heroics on Friday to make it into the weekend despite a wayward driver, the Laytown & Bettystown man struggled off the tee again, hitting just two fairways on the back nine.
But like Friday, he rallied in style towards the end with birdies on 16 and 18 to add to his brace on four and six which came either side of a bogey on 5. Maguire admitted he felt like he shot seven-over.
“Horrendous, that’s not even an exaggeration,” he said. “I did hang in well but I did not have it off the tee today. I think the one fairway I did hit was lucky, I pushed it off the tee. Laying up on three or four par fours, you’re losing ground off the tee. Putting great, irons are great.
“The best part of my game is driving. I consider myself a really good driver of the ball, last few weeks I have been hitting it long and straight, this week it’s long and offline. The one thing I struggled with last month was iron play and that’s been the best part of my game this week.”
A key fundamental of Maguire’s game this week is to remain in the moment whether things are going well or not. On a couple of occasions he has lost his train of thought but mainly he has recovered well from adversity.
“I hit a lovely 8-iron into the next and missed a four-footer,” he said of his response to the double on 7. “At that stage I was getting too ahead of myself and getting far too emotional. I was depending on that putt to drop to get that shot back where I shouldn’t have been thinking about that.
“I hit some wayward shots but I’ve bounced back and I’m proud of that. Every shot counts and for me it does.
“I’m hitting some great shots and making some birdies. Just really struggling off the tee. If I can find some fairways and not have to chip out on par fours I can make a move. Supreme and clean.”
Usually when you are lying in a share of 51st place you are very much under the radar. But Maguire has been full value in the entertainment stakes on his debut Irish Open experience.
“I wish it was less of a rollercoaster. I’m disappointed in how I am handling certain situations but then really proud of how I’m handling others. I don’t know what to think of myself and how to evaluate it. A lot of disappointment because I want to do so well, I have high expectations. I’m not happy with par saves or double bogey saves that doesn’t excite me. At the end of the week when I look back that will be great but I hold myself to such a high standard.”
It’s been a case of trying too hard for Maguire who as it stands is on course to earn €20,000 which would almost quadruple his season earnings.
“Trying too hard to not make mistakes. I feel like the birdies are coming I’m not trying to force them. I just feel like I am trying way too hard to not mess up. Hopefully tomorrow I can have a good day.”
Lets hope a good Sunday charge is on the cards and Maguire finishes on a high.
Leave a comment