Guiney’s European dream
Beyond the county’s boundaries, however, he is something of an unknown — and yet the 28 year-old from Ballybunion is one of a dozen Irish hopefuls who have battled their way into the second stage of the European Tour qualifying process at four venues in Spain next month.
Most of the others have claimed headlines at various stages of their careers. Alan Dunbar and Kevin Phelan distinguished themselves in the Walker Cup, Colm Moriarty and Gareth Shaw have made their mark in the pro ranks and Royal Dublin’s Niall Kearney has a South of Ireland Championship on his cv.
Guiney, however, has largely travelled under the radar. Now 28, he was 14 when he took up the game and made little impression apart from the odd outing in the South of Ireland Championship and assisting Ballybunion in the Irish Senior Cup. However, he made his mark on collegiate golf in Arizona and Florida, twice setting course records with rounds of 61. Having graduated with a degree from Rollins College, Guiney turned pro a few years ago, playing mini tours around Orlando and striking up a friendship with Jim Renner, who recently qualified for the US PGA Tour.
“You’ll hear a lot of him in the future,” predicted Guiney. “Jim and myself played the mini tours and so, too, did Keegan Bradley. Guys play the Moonlight Tour organised by the Orlando Golf Association to remain competitive for the Tour School. You put up $100 of your own money and I won 20 to 25 of these one-day events so I have been supporting myself.
“But you need money to make money, probably $100,000 to keep going, and in the States, I’d have been trying to qualify for the Web.Com, the equivalent of the Challenge Tour in Europe. I felt it made more sense to try for a place on a major tour and that’s why I preferred to try and come through the European system. Living and playing with Jim Renner and seeing what he has achieved along with my success on the mini tours has filled me with confidence and I was in a very good state of mind teeing it up at Frilford Heath.
“I tried to qualify there a year ago but I hadn’t played a tournament for more than two months, started with a quadruple bogey eight at the first and was out almost before I had begun. I learned from that.
“I practised for two weeks beforehand at Ballybunion (this year) but even then I started badly, taking 34 and 36 putts in each of first two rounds after which I was tied for 48th. I still believed in myself and everything changed when I sank an 18 foot putt for eagle on the 2nd in the third round. I holed a good putt to save par at the next, cut my number of putts down to 25 in the couple of days and rounds of 67 and 69 in the toughest of the weather shot me up from 48th to sixth.”
Guiney contests the second stage at El Saler in Valencia, the venue for this year’s Spanish Open and a seaside layout not entirely unlike his own beloved Ballybunion. He is confident he can continue his progress and secure that coveted tour card.
