McCormack scratches his 20-year McIlroy itch with first Irish Close Championship

Deirdre Smith also walked away with silverware after claiming a dramatic Irish Senior Women’s Amateur Close Championship win

SWEET SILVER: Eddie McCormack toasts victory at the Irish Senior Men's & Women's Close Championships, Nenagh, Tipperary. Pic: INPHO/Leah Scholes

Eddie McCormack (Galway Bay) claimed his first Irish Senior Men’s Amateur Close Championship in emphatic style at Nenagh Golf Club on Friday afternoon, twenty years after losing the final of the Irish Men’s Amateur Close Championship to a young Rory McIlroy.

Deirdre Smith also walked away with silverware, as the County Louth golfer overturned the disappointment of losing last year’s decider in Kilkeel to claim a dramatic Irish Senior Women’s Amateur Close Championship win on the 19th hole of her playoff against Sinead Benedetti (Roscommon).