<p>David Howard (Fota Island), the 2025 East of Ireland Men’s Amateur Open Champion Photo: INPHO | Bryan Keane</p>
Fota Island's David Howard is looking forward to making his pro dreams come true after finishing with a brilliant birdie to win the Pharmaher Healthcare-sponsored East of Ireland Championship by a shot at a windswept Baltray.
The Ringaskiddy native (26) was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (C.F.) when he was just seven, but he hasn't let that blunt his golfing ambitions.
Battling a northwest breeze gusting to 50 kmph at times, he shot a morning 72 to go into the final round tied for second with Stuart Grehan and David Kitt, two strokes behind County Louth's Gavin Tiernan on three under.
Dun Laoghaire's Robert Abernethy stormed through the field, carding sensational rounds of 66 and 69 to set a formidable four-under clubhouse target.
The Dubliner led the qualifiers in the West of Ireland and but lost in the first round and then missed the cut in the Flogas Irish Amateur Open at Seapoint.
But he knew he was playing better than his first two rounds suggested and put together two sensational closing rounds despite going off the 10th some 90 minutes before the leaders.
He looked like the winner when he birdied the sixth and then made two six-footers for pars at the seventh and eighth before rapping in a 15-footer for a rare birdie into the wind at the ninth.
Howard had other ideas.,
After following birdies at the second, third, fourth and sixth with four bogeys in a row from the seventh to trail Abernethy by a shot, Howard made 12-footers for birdie at the 12th and 14th to take the lead.
He then almost chipped in at the 16th and made par, but a bogey at the 17th, where he was short with his tee shot and missed from around five feet, left him needing a birdie to win.
A par would have set up a three-hole aggregate playoff with Abernethy, but Griffin took advantage of his strength from the tee and made birdie.
After a great drive, he held up a 211-yard five-iron into the breeze that finished 15 feet above the flag from where he two-putted for a 70 and glory on five-under 283.
<img alt="" height="3368" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52780078e4b0782c048f31cb/eba0270d-e08e-43d4-b858-a8178d244ac8/BK1_5763.JPG?format=1000w" width="5988" />
<p>David Howard and his partner Gabrielle seal his win with a kiss on the 18th green Photo: INPHO | Bryan Keane</p>
"It doesn't get much better than this," beamed Howard, who is playing as an amateur on the Clutch Tour and hopes to go to the DP World Tour Qualifying School in the autumn.
"After making four bogeys in a row, my girlfriend said I was one behind Robert, so I knew I needed one or two coming in.
"I didn't hear anything until the last when I asked my dad (and caddie John), 'Do I need to make his putt?'. And he said, 'No', so I knew I could lag it up to give myself something small or finish it off."
As for his battle with C.F., he admitted it was a challenge, but he was managing well.
"I was diagnosed at seven, and it was a big impact from then on," he said. "There have been ups and downs, but medication is really good these days, so the health's been pretty good."
In Salzburg, Germany's Nicolai von Dellingshausen closed with a five-under 65 to win the Austrian Alpine Open and his maiden DP World Tour title.
He triumphed by two shots from close friend Marcel Schneider and last week's Soudal Open champion Kristoffer Reitan, who shot 60, on 19 under.
Rookie Conor Purcell tied for 56th on one under after a 68 but fell three spots to 139th in the Race to Dubai.
At the HotelPlanner Tour's Challenge de Cadiz, Dermot McElroy (31) closed with a second successive five-under 67 to finish tied for third on 11 under, just two shots behind Spain's Rocco Repetto Taylor.
After making just two of his first eight cuts, McElroy leapt from 178th to 49th in the Road to Mallorca rankings.
Max Kennedy also clinched his best finish of the season, jumping to 85th in the race for 20 cards after a 69 left him tied for 14th on six under.
East of Ireland Amateur Open, County Louth (Par 72)
283 David Howard (Fota Island) 69 72 72 70;
284 Robert Abernethy (Dun Laoghaire) 75 74 66 69;
285 Gavin Tiernan (Co. Louth) 70 71 70 74;
286 Adam Fahey (Portmarnock) 71 75 71 69, Dylan Keating (Seapoint) 69 73 76 68;
287 Keith Egan (Carton House) 70 79 69 69;
288 Stuart Grehan (Co. Louth) 71 70 72 75, David Kitt (Athenry) 68 71 74 75;
291 Luke Kelly (Dunfanaghy) 71 76 68 76, Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk) 72 70 75 74;
292 John Doyle (Fota Island) 66 79 70 77;
293 Seán McLoughlin (Co. Sligo) 70 77 70 76, Eoin Sullivan (Portmarnock) 74 73 74 72, Adam Buchanan (Royal Portrush) 70 75 72 76, Barry Howlin (The Heritage) 71 74 75 73, Gerard Dunne (Co. Louth) 64 75 76 78
294 Fionn Dobbin (Malone) 71 74 73 76, John William Burke (Ballyhaunis) 68 76 73 77, Jamie Butler (Naas) 71 73 73 77, Jordan Boles (Limerick) 73 71 74 76;
295 Ciaran Murphy (Grange) 73 76 74 72, Thomas Abom (Edmondstown) 71 78 75 71, Benjamin Oberholzer (Clandeboye) 73 71 73 78;
296 James Fox )Portmarnock) 71 76 74 75, Aodhagan Brady (Co. Sligo) 76 73 72 75, Eoin Murphy (Dundalk) 71 71 77 77, David Reddan (Castleknock) 68 72 74 82;
297 Jake Whelan (Grange) 75 74 75 73, Colm Campbell (Warrenpoint) 74 74 74 75;
298 Matthew Giles (Greenore) 71 77 75 75, Simon Walker (Roscommon) 73 73 75 77, David Lally (Blainroe) 76 72 75 75, Darragh Flynn (Carton House) 72 75 72 79, Aaron Marshall (Lisburn) 72 73 71 82;
299 Ben Cahill (Dundalk) 74 75 73 77, Mikkel Bergum Johansen (Drøbak GK) 70 72 78 79;
301 Colin Woodroofe (Dun Laoghaire) 70 78 71 82, Darren McCormack (Corrstown) 74 74 75 78;
302 Graham Donohoe (Enniscorthy) 74 75 78 75, Joshua Hill (Galgorm Castle) 71 75 75 81, Oscar Bach (Oslo) 71 74 78 79;
303 Conor Clarke (Balmoral) 72 77 75 79, Sean Reddy (Douglas) 74 75 75 79, Shane McDermott (PGA National Slieve Russell) 71 77 81 74, Adam Allahbachani (Powerscourt) 75 72 80 76, Joseph Stevenson (Portadown) 73 74 77 79;
304Gary Collins (Rosslare) 70 77 80 77;
305 Rory Gallagher (Galway Bay) 70 79 83 73, Eoin O Carroll (St Anne’s) 73 76 79 77, David Foy (Laytown & Bettystown) 73 74 80 78;
307 Tomás Pepper (Ardee) 71 78 80 78, Kevin Robinson (Castlewarden) 71 77 78 81, Rían Carvill (Warrenpoint) 74 72 76 85.
Article Link: Howard beats high winds and lifelong health challenges to win ‘East’ - News - Irish Golf Desk