Six Galway will golfers tee off in the opening round of the Flogas Men's Irish Amateur Open Championship at Seapoint Golf Club tomorrow morning.
First up will be David Kitt from Athenry and Luke Cunningham from Galway Bay at 8.33am and they will be followed by Fergal Coyle of Athenry at 1.55pm, Mikie Grealy from Galway Bay at 2.06 and Rory Gallagher of Galway Bay and Caelan Coleman of Galway Bay Golf Resort who both tee off at 2.39pm.
Stuart Grehan will look to become only the second player since Keith Nolan in 1997 to win back-to-back Flogas Irish Men’s Amateur Open Championships when he tees up at Seapoint this week.
Returning to the amateur game in 2025, Grehan produced a standout season, claiming both the Flogas Irish Men’s Amateur Open and AIG Irish Men’s Amateur Close Championships before going on to represent Ireland at the European Amateur Team Championships in Killarney and earn selection on the GB&I Walker Cup team that competed at Cypress Point in September.
The County Louth golfer’s remarkable return was sparked by his victory at Seapoint 12 months ago, when he came from four shots behind to seal the win on the third hole of a dramatic playoff against England’s Lewy Hayward.
It was a moment he fondly remembers, made all the sweeter by it being so close to home.
“It was just a sense of relief, to be honest. I didn't feel too much pressure. It was just the relief of winning and getting it done. It's something I always wanted to do ever since the event was announced there,” said Grehan.
“Having my son there winning it was pretty cool. It was the first time he was on the golf course really. That was one thing that will always stick in my head, it was a special moment for me and my family.”
The Flogas Irish Men’s Amateur Open Championship will once again draw some of the best talent from around the world, as competitors from the UK, Switzerland, Italy, France, Norway and the United States join over 100 Irish players in the field. Four rounds of stroke play lie ahead over the next four days, with the top 50 plus ties making it through to the final round on Sunday.
The Tullamore native, who now lives in nearby Termonfeckin, has carried his rich vein of form into the early part of this season. A T10 finish at the European Nations Championship in Sotogrande followed by a sixth-place finish at the Lytham Trophy last week, has set Grehan up nicely as he aims to retain his crown on the east coast links.
“The game is definitely trending nicely, and those two golf courses Sotogrande and Lytham would definitely be two of the hardest tracks we play all year,” said Grehan.
“To come into this week, being at home, it'll have its own pressures, but I'm feeling good and just want to put the head down now from Thursday onwards.”
Grehan will get the defence of his title underway from 8.44am tomorrow morning as he tees up alongside Irish International teammate John Doyle (Fota Island) and Dylan Shaw-Radford (Huddersfield Golf Club).
With a home Walker Cup on the horizon at Lahinch later this year, a strong performance this week could go a long way towards getting on GB&I captain Dean Robertson’s radar once again.
“We all want to play a home Walker Cup in Lahinch. I’ve done well there in the past, so it would be silly for me to say it doesn't come into the head, of course it does. I'm pretty happy with my start, but I still need to keep the head down and put in some good work now over the next three months or so.”
“It'd be nice to have everyone there this year, and to be able to do it again, would be really cool, but there’s a long way between now and Sunday, so I just need to put the head down and see how we get on, but it would be incredibly special.”
The Flogas Irish Men’s Amateur Open Championship tees up from 8:00am tomorrow under a two-tee start, as Colm Campbell (Warrenpoint), Alexander Brand (Golf Club Bern) and Gerard Dunne (Co. Louth) get proceedings underway from the first tee, while Shane McGlynn (Portmarnock), Eoin Murphy (Dundalk) and Oscar Murphy (Royal Portrush) begin on the 10th.
View first round tee times and scoring here
