A fabulous birdie at the last saw Nicky Grant tie Michael McDermott at the top of the leaderboard in the Touchstore Irish PGA Championship Pro-Am at Limerick Golf Club.
The traditional curtain-raiser to the Region’s flagship event saw a stellar field assemble at Ballyclough in the southern suburbs of the Treaty City, and the impeccably presented golf course provided a stern test for the cream of the Irish PGA Professionals.
Grange’s McDermott was among the early starters and, having started on the back nine, made the turn at one-over after two birdies, a bogey and a double. But he caught fire on the way home, mixing birdies at the first, third, fourth and sixth with a bogey on five to get to two-under before the highlight moment. That came on the eighth, as
“It was a bit of a surprise,” McDermott admitted. “Nothing really happened on the back nine, but then a lot went for me on the front nine, and I shot five-under on that to close the round out nicely.
“Today the goal was really to get a fresh look at the course. I played the Pro-Am here a few years ago, but some of the greens have changed so it was a bit of a fact-finding mission so there were shots I took on today that I mightn’t take on tomorrow.
“But I’m delighted with the way things went.”
McDermott admitted that he thought his score would be bettered, but it wasn’t until the third-to-last group of the day that he had company at the top.
Grant went bogey-free but thought his chances of victory had slipped by when a birdie putt on the par-5 eighth – his 17th – sat on the lip and refused to drop. He made amends by sinking a 25-footer on the last to climb alongside McDermott and earn a shared victory – his first since the Mount Juliet Pro-Am back in June of 2025.
“To be honest, I’ve been playing pretty well all season, but I just haven’t been able to hole the putts, so it was nice to hole that 25-footer on the last,” Grant said.
It caps off a great week for Knock Golf Club, where Grant began his career, as Katie Poots claimed the AIG Irish Women’s Amateur Close Championship at Enniscrone, and he feels that even further success isn’t out of the question.
“They say lightning doesn’t strike twice, but maybe this week it can,” Grant laughed. “I’m excited for the week because it’s a golf course that suits my game and it’s very similar to Knock in many ways. I’m very familiar with tree-lined courses and I’ve done well on them this season, so I’m confident and I’m really excited.”
Michael McGeady, Andrew Hickey and Richard Kilpatrick shared third place at -3, one shot behind the winners, with Sean O’Donoghue, Cormac Sharvin and Niall Kearney one further adrift and tied for sixth at -2.
Waterville’s David Higgins led the team of Andrew Daly, Kevin Harrington and David Finn to glory in the team section, narrowly beating the all-star Limerick side of Cian McNamara, now Monkstown Golf Club Head Professional and formerly an assistant pro at Limerick Golf Club having played all his amateur golf at the club, and Limerick hurlers Diarmuid Byrnes, Nicky Quaid, and Aidan O’Connor.
The legendary Jimmy Kinsella, winner of the 1972 Madrid Open on the European Tour and back-to-back Irish PGA Championships including the 1973 edition, the last time it was staged at Limerick Golf Club, was the guest of honour at the prize presentation and was extended a standing ovation after being interviewed by club president Ivan Morris.
The Irish PGA Championship tees off on Monday, with four-time winner and current PGA in Ireland Captain Simon Thornton looking to successfully defend his title.
Leave a comment