Maguire looks to McIlroy for inspiration

FOLLOWING RORY: Alex Maguire will be looking to make a statement at The K Club this weekend. Pic: Mateo Villalba / Golffile.

Irish amateur Alex Maguire said he used to have dreams of emulating Rory McIlroy’s magnificent shots around The K Club in 2016 as he prepares for his first Horizon Irish Open.

The Laytown & Bettystown clubman begins his first round at 9.30am this morning on the back of his first appearance in the Walker Cup in a whirlwind year for the Meath native.

Maguire also featured at The Open in Royal Liverpool after he claimed the inaugural Open Amateur Series, following on from wins at the East of Ireland and St Andrews Links Trophy.

But this week he returns to Kildare after he received an invite from the DP World Tour late on Sunday evening, and despite the quick turnaround he is excited to test his game against the very best again.

“Every junior golfer at that time had dreams going to bed that they were going to hit those three woods into 16 and 18,” said Maguire.

“He is a massive inspiration to me and somebody that I look up to a lot in golfing terms. I probably wouldn’t have imagined that I would have been playing alongside him in the same event in Ireland any time soon.

“It’s a massive opportunity to test my game against his and see what it compares like. Any time you are playing in a field that Rory is playing I think you are doing something well.” After this Maguire will go to the DP World Tour Q School next week in Austria where qualifying takes place at Golfclub Schloss Ebreichsdorf.

He returns to USA in late September and he will conclude his studies in Florida Atlantic University by next January, while he is confident he is in a better place to compete on the professional stage ahead of the start of the Irish Open.

“I just think that I won’t be like a deer in the headlights,” said Maguire.

“I have played The Open and I have played a Walker Cup so I can deal with the nerves now. I am just going to go out there and focus on my golf and see where that leaves me on Sunday evening.

“Playing The Open, it was probably the hardest thing to play in for my first professional event but it was probably the best thing for me because I don’t think you can get bigger than The Open.

“So then any other event that you play after that feels a little bit easier because you have experienced the top level but I am still going to be nervous on that first tee on Thursday.

“It’s the Irish Open, I have gone to five Irish Opens now. I have gone to the Irish Open at The K Club when Rory won.

“It is really a dream come true to be able to play the Irish Open but I think playing big events and winning big things will definitely help me keep my feet on the ground on Thursday morning.”