Tullamore's Stuart Grehan didn't hold back when he sat down to write his pre-season wish list.
By skipping a planned trip to the Old Course for a university championship last week, the reigning East of Ireland champion achieved his goal of winning two championships this year with a thoroughly deserved 4 and 3 triumph over Knock's Colin Fairweather in the 114th South of Ireland Amateur Open final.
A 22-year-old Paddy Harrington scholarship student at Maynooth Univeristy, he had to dig deep at times. He came back from two down with two to play to beat Alan Lowry on the 20th on Friday and chipped in twice to beat Rosslare's Gary Collins in the quarter-finals.
But in the final, he needed no such heroics and was never headed as he defeated the big-hitting Fairweather with excellent ball-striking, a tidy short game and nerveless putting.
“I am absolutely thrilled,” said Grehan after achieving an East-South double last achieved by Jim Carvill a decade ago. “That was my goal at the start of the year, to win two championships. It was something mad I had down on my dream list, I’m absolutely delighted.”
Winning a full international cap was another goal and Grehan can surely look forward to teeing it up in Ireland’s defence of the Home Internationals at Royal Portrush next month.
"My short game was fantastic and my mental game was good as well," added the Offaly man, who was never behind as he beat 19-year-old Limerick promise Mark MacGrath 2 and 1 in his semi-final, ending hopes of seeing a Lahinch member win for the first time since 1968.
Extra holes
Fairweather had to go to the 19th in his semi-final to see off the combative
Keith Egan
of Carton House, who birdied the last from 18 feet to force extra holes with a brave half, but bunkered his gap wedge to the first and failed to save par.
But the 24-year-old son of PGA professional Gordon Fairweather was always on the back foot in the final and while he hit back from a bogey at the first with a winning birdie at the second, he was behind from the time Grehan hit a seven iron to six feet at the fourth and made eagle. “If you not rolling the ball well and struggling with the pace of the greens, you’re kind of getting your own way a bit,” the 24-year-old Ulsterman said. “Any time I won a hole, he kept hitting back.”
Fairweather missed a short putt for a half at the sixth and went two down, birdied the eighth from 10 feet but then lost the ninth when Grehan holed a double-breaking 25 footer to go two up. The midlander handed Fairweather the 10th with a double bogey but was gifted the par-three 11th when the big Ulsterman carved his tee shot wide and lost the ball.
Two down again, 2012 semi-finalist Fairweather hit back by holing a 30-yard bunker shot for a winning eagle three at the 12th. But Grehan restored his two-hole cushion with a birdie from three feet at the 13th and then made two regulation, two putt par-fours at the next two holes to close out the match.
