Edmondstown star Thomas Abom let out an almighty roar that was heard across Seapoint Golf Links and probably neighbouring Baltray when he notched his first ever hole in one on the par-3 17th on his way to the summit of the Flogas Irish Men’s Amateur Open Championship leaderboard.
It was a day of drama and low scoring again on day two with Abom hitting the front on 11-under after an excellent 64 and he leads by one from Stephen Coulter and Patrick Keeling who entered the history books with a blistering course record 62 in the morning.
Abom threatened to equal Keeling’s 62 but he still had the moment of the day when his 6-iron to the par-3 17th disappeared.
“I had about 168 yards into the wind off the right. I was just trying to hit the green, it’s a tricky hole. It came off sweet and went right at the pin, Conor Stapleton who I was playing with was saying go in. I completely lost it and started running around, crazy, screaming so that’s the highlight of my golfing career.
“It’s better than doing it in a Sunday singles, nice to do it in the Irish AM!”
It had been plain sailing for the Maynooth University student before that with back to back birdies on the 10th and 11th and he followed birdies on 14 and 16 with the famous ‘1’ on 17. He regained his composure with a par on the 18th before getting back on the birdie train on the 1st and 3rd to reach eight under after 12 holes and in position to threaten Keeling’s historic moment.
He two putted for birdie on the par-5 6th and he was still in with a chance going up the par-3 9th after he responded to a bogey on 7 with a birdie on 8. But the 9th was playing tricky and he fell to a closing bogey which trimmed his lead from two to one.
Abom was a rank outsider when he claimed the Irish Close title in Dun Laoghaire two years ago but the 21-year-old is well known these days and will use all of his major winning experience to try and hold off a stacked field over the weekend.
“I can draw back on that experience from Dun Laoghaire but I’m just happy to put myself back in this position and this is where you want to be so I look forward to tomorrow.”
It’s not quite brotherly love at the top of the leaderboard but it’s not far off as Liam ground out a 71 after a rough start to share 4th place on eight-under with County Louth’s Gerard Dunne who shot 67.
Coulter, a Barton Shield winner with Warrenpoint last year, came up trumps on the front nine – his back – with three birdies in his last six holes to turn a stuttering day into a good one as he carded a 70 to thrust himself into the final group at 10-under with Keeling and Abom.
Teeing off on the back nine, the overnight leader and briefly the joint course record holder after Thursday’s 64 opened with a birdie on 10. However, he fell back to six-under after dropped shots on 11, 12 and 14 with fairway bunkers proving penal. But he responded brilliantly to birdie 16 and 18 and he showed his powers of recovery after a bogey on the first with crucial birdies on the 4th, 5th and 8th.
He’s in unfamiliar territory heading into the weekend but it is an opportunity he will relish.
“This is why you play championships to put yourself into these situations. It’s not something I’m overly familiar with but I’m happy to take on the challenge.”
The story of the morning was from Roganstown star Keeling who lapped the field with a ten-under 62 to reach that total.
“No matter what this will always be a week to remember after today,” said Keeling, making his first Irish championship appearance since the 2024 South.
“I’m playing good golf, having fun and I have a goal to finish as high as possible. What gives me the best chance of doing that is one shot at a time, staying in rhythm and sticking to what I know. That worked today, it might not work as well tomorrow but just sticking to the process and keep enjoying it.
“Got Tom Mullen on the bag, one of my good old friends. He’s an incredible caddie, he just brought a lot of freedom out there, he’s so much fun to be around with all the jokes it helps you play freely.”
Five shots separate ten players including defending champion Stuart Grehan who endured a rollercoaster round but managed to sign for a 71 and a six-under total. He is alongside English duo Dylan Shaw-Radford, Tom Hughes and David Reddan and Darragh Flynn.
Scoring HERE
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