DOLLYMOUNT, Dublin (May 12, 2013) -- Balbriggan’s Robbie
Cannon has won the Irish Amateur Open Championship at
Royal Dublin in dramatic fashion after a four hole playoff that
went to sudden death.
With defending champion Gavin Moynihan (The Island),
Graeme Robertson (Scotland) and the 34 year old fitness
coach Cannon all tied on seven-over par after regulation play
concluded, a three hole aggregate playoff ensued and with
Moynihan being eliminated after the first three holes, it was
left to Cannon & Robertson to go back to the final tee box
again for sudden death.
Both players found the fairway with their irons off the tee,
Cannon leaving himself 204 yards to the flag. He hit a
sublime five iron to thirty foot while Robertson, who had 35
yards less found the lip of the right hand greenside bunker
and the ball nestled right in the centre of the trap.
Despite a valiant shot to twelve foot, the Scot left himself
with too much work to do and when Cannon left his birdie
effort just 18 inches from the hole, Robertson had a must
make putt which he missed and Cannon holed out to become
the third Ireland player in four years to win the coveted
trophy.
Moynihan, last year’s champion, finished as runner-up on a
count-back, while Robertson, who had a hole in one at the
twelfth in round one, ended up in third.
Ireland’s Dermot McElroy, Richard O’Donovan & Geoff
Lenehan all finished in a tie for fourth on eight-over par,
alongside Finland’s Teemu Bekker and Ewan Scott from
Scotland.
Also on that mark was Jack Hume, the runner up at Lytham
last week, held a two shot lead with two holes to play and
having made bogey on the penultimate hole, he needed a par
to win on the last.
Having found sand from the tee, he blasted out to the fairway
and still had 200 yards to the flag. A wayward shot left of the
green meant that the Rathsallagh member from Naas had to
get up and down from left of the green to make the play-off.
A mishit chip shot and a missed putt ended Hume’s hopes of
making the play-off and he finished on eight-over also.
Rory McNamara and Colm Campbell rounded off the top ten
on nine-over par.
This win will surely capitulate Cannon back into the Irish
National Panel and the 2009 South of Ireland champion must
be in the minds of selectors with some big championships
coming up.
ABOUT THE Irish Amateur Open
First played in 1892 and held every year with
the
exception of the War Years up to 1959, and
revived in 1995, the Irish Amateur Open can
boast
a strong history of producing great Champions
including Joe Carr (three times), Jimmy
Bruen,
Tom Craddock, Padraig Harrington, Michael
Hoey,
Noel Fox, Louis Oosthuizen and Pedro
Figueiredo.
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