Magee gets season off to a bright start in Kildare

DUNGANNON’S Tiarnan Magee made a promising start to the 2024 FootGolf Association of Ireland National Tour last week, finishing joint first in Kildare before missing out on the overall win on penalty putts.

The Ireland international recorded rounds of 62 and 58 for a 20-under-par total that saw him finish level on top of the leaderboard with James Barry. They then went into a play-off hole which finished all square before Barry edged the verdict on penalty putts.

Kildare proved to be a relatively happy hunting ground for Magee last year when he finished tied first and lost a play-off and although a little frustrated that lightening struck twice, he’s pleased with his overall performance and the ranking points he collected for finishing top of the leaderboard.

“I’m happy to get a good result because when you have points on the board early on it means the pressure is off a bit and you’re not chasing at the end of the season,” explained the former Derrychara United player, who is gearing up for a busy summer at international level.

Magee will be part of a five-strong Ireland team that will travel to Slovakia in June in a bid to qualify for the European Championships, which take place in Turkey in November, which he’s hoping to be a part of.

“The Ireland team hasn’t qualified yet but there are 16 spots and nine teams have qualified, so we have to go to Slovakia where we will play off against 12 other countries for the remaining seven spots,” he explained.

“We will be playing against five other people from each of those 12 other countries and out of those five people it’s the best four scores added together gives you your total and the seven lowest scorers qualify for the Euro’s.

“If we perform to our best I’m confident we will qualify.”

The event in Kildare last weekend began with 46 players tackling the very tough conditions where underfoot conditions were soft following snow in the days leading up to the tournament.

For Magee, one wayward tee shot on hole five cost him a clean scorecard on round one which he finished in joint second place on eight under-par.

He started round two brightly, edging into the lead only for a couple of uncharacteristic mistakes ultimately costing him the overall win after 36 holes.

“I was maybe not aggressive enough on the first round because I didn’t have as many birdie chances, and then on the second round I had two bogeys that shouldn’t have been,” he observed.

“There were a few small mistakes but it’s wee small things that come back to haunt you in the end and you’re left thinking ‘if I’d made this or that I wouldn’t have had a play-off or penalty putts’.

“I was really pleased with my putting for most of the day but unfortunately came up just short when it really mattered.

“But as far as points go, I still get the points for finishing first but in terms of medals I went home with a wee silver medal instead of a gold.

“Any medal is good but points are probably more valuable.”

Tiarnan wishes to thank his sponsors for their support this season: Heron Fire Doors, Specialist Joinery Group and Dungannon Credit Union.