Stuart Grehan ended his Open Championship experience on a high with three birdies in his last six holes to sign for a 69 but acknowledged his chances of making the cut were dashed after an opening 77 at Royal Birkdale.
Grehan’s six-over total isn’t one he will look back on with fondness but after a frustrating first 30 holes he showed a glimpse of his brilliance with birdies on the 13th, 14th and 16th.
“Yeah, certainly played better today than yesterday,” said the County Louth Golf Club man. “Yeah, I suppose I probably enjoyed it a little bit more today. Probably didn’t get my own way as much. But yeah, there was too much work to do today. But look, I played very well, and it was a good experience.
“I started to find my swing a little bit. Took a while. I think probably the best shot I hit was the 13th. It was probably the only good shot I hit in the 30 holes I’d played up to that point. Yeah, I played nice coming in.”
The Amateur champion had plenty of support on the first tee on Thursday after arriving with a quiet confidence earlier in the week. But the round got away from him and he was incredibly disappointed last night.
“I was very dejected last night actually, fairly disappointed in how I played, all aspects of my game to be perfectly honest. They just weren’t there.
“A little bit better today, but I thought it was a lot easier today. There was no real crosswinds. Yeah, even today I felt like I left a few out there, but it’s just one of those things; I just didn’t have my game yesterday, and that was it.
“Obviously 69, anything under par on this golf course regardless if the weather is good, but to be able to do it under pressure as well as the crowds and everything, I actually really enjoyed it today. Just felt like I left a few out there. Yeah, the experience was incredible, and having some hometown support was pretty cool, as well.”
Grehan will get two more bites at the major championship cherry with the Masters and US Open to come next year and this week’s Open was an eye opener on what he needs to work on going forward.
“Obviously putting, but a few wedge shots, as well, I didn’t really hit any close. Took me a long time to hit a ball close. I think 13 today. So you’re 30 holes into the tournament to hit a ball close. That’s not good enough, especially at this level. Yeah, a little bit of short irons and putting especially.
“That’s one thing I’ve learned over the past couple of days; I need to become a better putter. But yeah, anything more than that I probably need a couple more days to really truly reflect, but that was the first thing that stood out to me. But yeah, I just enjoyed the whole experience.”
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