Stuart Grehan declared winner as weather hits ‘East’

Tullamore’s Stuart Grehan was declared the winner after torrential rain and southerly winds forecast to gust over 100kph saw the CityNorth Hotel sponsored East of Ireland Amateur Open reduced to 54 holes for the first time in its 75-year history.

The 22-year old midlander finished five strokes better than Knock’s Colin Fairweather and six ahead of Castle’s Alex Gleeson on four under par 212 after following rounds of 67 and 69 with a 76 in heavy rain and high winds at County Louth yesterday.

Since Joe Carr won the inaugural “East” in 1941, the champion has always completed 72 holes on the famous Baltray links. But in explaining why the decision was taken to cancel round four with the entire field on the course and reduce the tournament to 54 holes, Leinster Golf’s Joe McNamara, the championship director, said: “The weather was only going to get increasingly worse so we made a decision to cancel the round rather than prolong the agony.

“Up to 6ml of rain was forecast from 2pm to 6pm and it was impossible to play the game to a proficient standard.”

While some grumbled, most agreed with the decision and Grehan was clearly thrilled to claim a maiden senior win that edges him closer to his goal of making the Irish team for August’s Home Internationals at Royal Portrush.

“To win feels great,” said Grehan, who was tied fifth behind Gavin Moynihan in the recent Irish Amateur Open at Royal Dublin. “I felt good coming in this week but I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night and I was nervous this morning and over the first tee shot. But once I got that away, I was fine.”

The wind was already blowing steadily at 50kph and gusting well over 60kph in the morning before the rain came in sheets and wind speeds rose.

Six ahead overnight after rounds of 67 and 69 and five shots clear of Knock’s Colin Fairweather (73) going into the fourth and final round having posted a 76 in miserable conditions in the morning, Grehan opened with two pars but admitted he was relieved to see an official approach and tell him to pick up as he prepared to putt for bogey from 20 feet on the third.

He certainly produced the goods when required and while Gleeson finished bogey-bogey for a 75 in the morning, the champion saved pars on the last two greens to go six shots ahead of the Castle player as John Ross Galbraith (79) took a nine on the 18th to fade from contention. “I would have preferred if they had played on because I was chasing Stuart but it was absolutely the right decision,” Gleeson said in the clubhouse afterwards.

Grehan, 22, was thrilled to get his first senior championship victory having won the Irish Youths title after a play-off in Loughrea in 2012.

He left Eastern Michigan University in 2013 suffering from homesickness and unhappy, ironically, with the bad winter weather near Detroit.

But having secured a Paddy Harrington Scholarship at Maynooth University, where he studies Entrepreneurship, the improved mental game and putting techniques he has picked up were the keys to his win, especially in yesterday’s tough weather.

“It’s fantastic to win such a prestigious title,” he said. “Maynooth has been great for me because it offers a nice mixture of golf and the academics and my game has come on a lot in my first year there.”