Portumna’s Murphy finishes third in East of Ireland Championship

Alex Maguire secured a second successive East of Ireland Amateur Open Championship at Baltray on Bank Holiday Monday after he held on for a sensational play-off win over fellow local Caolan Rafferty and Portumna’s Sam Murphy.

The 22-year-old kept himself alive in the competition thanks to a phenomenal putt on the 71st hole at County Louth Golf Club. The Laytown and Bettystown clubman did it again on the last and then when Rafferty (Dundalk) and Murphy (Portumna) challenged in the play-off it was Maguire who showed all of his experience, to outlast them over the three play-off holes in front of a huge crowd in the sweltering heat.

The crowds were out early, and Maguire was brilliant in the third round, for the second day in a row he birdied 18 and carded a 69 on his way to a two-shot lead. His playing partners Murphy and Shane McDermott (Slieve Russell) were giving chase on -7 while Harry Gillivan carded a 72 to stay on -6.

In the final round, Murphy and McDermott both birdied the seventh and the local favourite couldn’t pull clear following a bogey on the fifth. Jack McDonnell (Forrest Little) was the biggest mover at the right end of the standings, he was -4 for ten holes and two shots in arrears in fifth.

Murphy caught fire and with back-to-back birdies and he drew level alongside Maguire as they turned to the 12th. Both leaders double bogeyed and when McDermott sunk a long birdie putt it left three players tied on -8, just one shot in front of Gillivan. McDonnell had begun to slip but there were still plenty of players in contention.

A birdie on 14 ensured Rafferty made it a four-way tie at the top but Maguire missed, and Murphy came up with one of his own to take solo lead on the 13th when he got to -9.

Rafferty made a fantastic birdie on the 17th to put him on -9. He smashed his drive down the last hole, but his approach caught a bunker in front of the green. A par set him as the clubhouse leader.

He was caught by Maguire and Murphy and those three got off to a solid start in the play-off as they all had close birdie putts that just missed. They headed to the second hole tied on level par.

Rafferty and Maguire pulled ahead of Murphy, after both making birdies, on the 2nd. It was Maguire who eventually got ahead as he hit a super shot into three feet on the last play-off hole. He converted his putt for birdie to beat Rafferty by one stroke and retain his title, the first player to do that in the East since Raymond Burns back in 1993.