Fresh from his breakthrough victory at Seapoint, Patrick Keeling now turns his attention to Royal Portrush and the North of Ireland Amateur Open Championship.
The Roganstown golfer arrives searching for a second championship title in the space of a week after his dramatic victory in the Flogas Irish Men’s Amateur Open Championship last Sunday.
The North of Ireland returns to Portrush this year after being held at Portstewart in 2025, with the field taking on the Valley Links for Wednesday’s opening round before switching to the Dunluce Links for the remaining 54 holes.
132 competitors will tee it up with Keeling joined among the leading contenders by West of Ireland Champion Mark Cadden (Roganstown) and Munster Men’s Stoke Play Champion Paul Coughlan (Castleknock).
Keeling, who arrived back home to Ireland from college in Louisville, Kentucky last Monday, has enjoyed a whirlwind few days culminating in his Seapoint success. The 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th that clinched the title capped what the Swords native described as the “best week ever” but his focus has shifted to a championship on a course he loves.
“Portrush is my favourite course in the world,” said Keeling
“I’ve been lucky enough to play a lot of good courses in America and around Ireland, but nothing really comes close to Portrush for me. I have special memories being up here watching Shane Lowry winning and I played the Portrush Scratch Cup here a number of years ago and finished second to my younger brother, but it was fun.”
The calmness Keeling displayed during Sunday’s final round has been shaped in part by a change in perspective over the past year, with his faith becoming an important part of both his life and golfing career.
“The overall perspective of everything, realising as huge and prestigious as the Irish amateur is, it’s just a game of golf at the end of the day and there’s a lot more important things in life. That perspective just brought so much calmness,” said Keeling.
Keeling is set to tee up alongside Evan Hogg (Belvoir Park) and former Flogas Irish Men’s Amateur Open champion Matthew McClean (Malone) for their opening two rounds with the trio part of Wednesday’s afternoon wave at 2.30pm.
The 21-year-old spoke of how he wants to win as many championships as he can and put his name on as many trophies as possible, and with his next opportunity coming so soon after his first, he wants to keep a similar mindset when he tees up this week.
“You’re always showing up saying, I would like to win. I don’t need to win, but I would definitely like to win and to give yourself the best chance of that is by getting into your process,” said Keeling.
“Focusing on the things I can control, breathing, process, pre-shot routine, and then after I’ve hit the shot, how can I switch off, relax my brain, conserve energy, make sure I’m eating the right food, staying hydrated, getting the right sleep, putting the right food in my body, off the golf course, all that is crucial.
“I would love to win. That feeling is unbelievable and we’re always striving for days like Sunday as golfers.”
The North of Ireland Men’s Amateur Open Championship tees off at 7am on Wednesday with Colm Campbell (Warrenpoint), Jack Moffett (Fortwilliam) and Shea Dorman (Bangor) getting proceedings underway.
View tee times and scoring here
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