David Sheahan
, who died aged 74 last week, held a special place in Irish golfing lore.
As a young medical student back in 1962, the UCD and Grange golfer was – as the Irish Close champion of the time – invited to play in the Jeyes Tournament at Royal Dublin, a field that featured some of the leading professionals of that era.
On a tour that was the precursor to what evolved into the PGA European Tour, Sheahan – then 22 – had the temerity to play better than anyone.
He produced a 10-under-par total of 282 for the 72-hole tournament that left him one stroke clear of South African Denis Hutchinson, who at least had the consolation of collecting the "winner's" cheque, and three ahead of himself, Christy O'Connor snr.
Sheahan had eight strokes to spare over the nearest amateur, Noel Fogarty.
Sheahan's win was all the noteworthy for the fact that it would be over 45 years later before an amateur won again on the European circuit, when Spain's Pablo Martin won the Portugal Open in 2007.
And, of course, Shane Lowry won the Irish Open as an amateur in 2009.
Professional circuit
While Sheahan’s win in the Jeyes indicated he had the ability to succeed on the professional circuit, he remained very much an amateur with a greater concentration on his chosen profession as a GP based in Rathgar.
A member of the Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team of 1963, Sheahan won a second Irish Close championship title in Royal Dublin in 1966 and then completed a career hat-trick with victory at his home club Grange in 1970.
He played 54 times for Ireland – from 1961 to 1970 – and featured on winning Irish teams at the 1965 and 1967 European Team Championships. He was honoured with the “Distinguished Services to Golf Award” by the Irish Golf Writers’ Association in 2001.
