A sweeping, right-to-left birdie putt on the 20th hole had the perfect pace and line, and Mark Cadden couldn’t contain his joy as he finally saw off Colm Campbell and claimed a first men’s championship title.
Earlier in the day, Roganstown’s Cadden saw off another 19-year-old in Carton House’s Alex Kerins 3&1, while Campbell survived an epic encounter with Cian Harkin of The Island to win 1Up, and set up a final that pitted youth against experience.
In a match that swung back and forth, but never saw a lead grow larger than one hole, it was 19-year-old Cadden who looked the likeliest winner when he reeled off back-to-back wins on 15 and 16 to take his first lead since the third hole, but Campbell’s competitive spirit shone through and a clutch par save from eight feet on the 17th got him back all-square.
Both men had their chances to win it from there; Campbell first on 18 after a 7-iron set up a 12-foot putt that burned the edge, then Cadden on the first playoff hole as a slippery 18-footer broke away at the last second, but when the next chance presented itself, he made no mistake.
Both men hit iron off the tee on the par-4 second hole, but Warrenpoint’s Campbell left himself approximately 25 feet and came up just shy with his putt. This cleared the stage for Cadden, from around 15 feet, and he let out a scream of joy when it turned and fell in the front edge.
Winner of the 2025 Flogas Irish Boys Championship, he’s now firmly announced his arrival as a force to be reckoned with in the adult ranks, and he admitted that the title of ‘West of Ireland champion’ will be one he’ll never tire of hearing.
“It has a nice ring to it now,” a beaming Cadden said afterwards. “I’m absolutely delighted. I can’t believe it, and can’t really find the words to describe it.
“I just told myself to produce something [on the last putt]. I’d holed nothing all day – well, a few three- and four-footers on the way in – so I told myself on 18, 19, and 20, it would be a nice time to roll one in because I played great all day and Collie can fairly hole a putt.”
The win puts Cadden firmly in the Walker Cup conversation, and he didn’t shy away from admitting that it’s something that’s on his mind.
“Yeah, I’ve definitely thought about it,” he said. “It’s in Lahinch, and there’s probably going to be one, two, maybe three Irish lads on the GB&I team. Playing the Walker Cup is a dream, and I want to play it before going pro, and it’s every Irish players dream to make that team in Lahinch.”
For Campbell, this is now his second successive runner-up finish, and while he has East, South, and Irish Amateur Open titles, the West of Ireland Championship continues to elude him
“I suppose if you keep trying, the door will eventually open,” he said. “But look, again, it wasn’t meant to be. Fair play to Mark, he holed a great putt on the 20th and he had a couple of close calls the whole way through it. But he took his chance and that’s what you have to do to win these things.
“The key point in the game was probably on 12 where I missed a short one to go 2Up. I’m not saying you’re going to win from there, but it would’ve put me in a really strong position. It’s probably one I’ll look back on and say that if that had gone in, it could’ve been a different outcome. But that’s just the way it goes.”
He too has done his hopes of a Walker Cup call up no harm with his performances this week, and Lahinch is a golf course that he’s won on and performed extremely well at over the years.
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