Magee reclaims Clare Open crown

DUNGANNON native, Tiarnan Magee, reclaimed the Clare Open title at Munster FootGolf last weekend when he produced two sensational rounds that included 17 birdies, two eagles and a very rare hole-in-one on a par four that helped him secure a three shot victory over Ken Buckley.

Magee previously won the same event two years ago before missing out in 2024 and during both events, victory was all but sealed on one particular par four.

In 2023 he eagled the hole, and the one before, but this year he went one better by sealing an albatross with a hole-in-one. Although, he admits, there was some fortune involved on this occasion.

“It’s one of those that it’s not terribly long, but it’s technical,” he explained. “There’s a big massive patch of rough for about 60 yards after the tee,so you have to clear it but you also have to take enough off it so that the ball doesn’t go flying past the hole, which is up on an elevated green.

“You have to hit it the perfect amount to clear the rough but enough to bounce before it and roll up to the hole. I just got the right line and if it didn’t hit the flag, it would have gone maybe 10 or 15 yards past it, but thankfully it hit the pin and dropped in.”

That moment to remember capped a ‘good weekend’ for Ireland international Magee, who has enjoyed a solid season to date, during which he helped his country qualify for next year’s World Cup in Mexico

“The season has been good enough, I’ve had a few decent finishes,” he observed. “I came second in the Ulster Open up in Enniskillen and I was in Hungary earlier in the year for a qualifier for the World Cup and I performed really well. I finished 13th overall out of 150 people and I was the best ranked Irish player, so I contributed a lot of scores for qualification.”

Next up for Magee is the Scottish Open this coming weekend.