Tullamore man makes history with big golfing triumph
Offaly native continues sensational return to amateur ranks with third big win
A TULLAMORE man has made history with another huge golfing win. Stuart Grehan was crowned East of Ireland champion on Sunday as he continued his remarkable journey following his return to amateur ranks a couple of years ago following several years of trying to make it as a professional.
Now living in Louth, the Tullamore native became the first member of the County Louth Golf Club to claim the East of Ireland Mens' Amateur Open Championship on their home course in Baltray.
It was a fantastic win by Grehan who returned to amateur golf in 2025, winning both the Irish Mens' Amateur Open and Close Championships last year.
It is also his second time to win an East of Ireland title. He won his first in 2015 when he was a member of Tullamore Golf Club, and he embarked on a professional career in this. He won some titles in the subsidiary ranks of the European Tour but the big breakthrough eluded him and he decided to return to amateur golf last year as he got married and started a family.
Rounds of 70, 69, 67 and a final round 65 that included a spectacular hole-in-one saw him seal a six-shot victory at 17 under par, also setting a new championship scoring record in the process.
Victory at his home club, however, goes down as one of the sweetest achievements.
“It’s class, really cool. I’m really, really happy,” said Grehan. “Chuffed having great crowds out there today and being a member here and having the support with family and friends, it feels really cool. I did feel a lot of pressure coming in this week. I was playing nicely but you always have that extra pressure playing at home. To go out and perform, I’m really proud of myself.”
SEE NEXT: 1960s hero and club stalwart special guests as Ballinagar GAA open new astro turf facility
Joshua Hill (Galgorm Castle) began Sunday morning with the narrowest of leads over Grehan, with the pair sitting at six under and five under respectively. However, an opening two-shot swing immediately saw that lead change hands as a bogey for Hill and a birdie for Grehan on the first put the 2025 Walker Cup star into the driving seat.
Once he had taken the lead, Grehan showed little sign of letting it go, making six more birdies on his way to a third round five under par 67.
Hill remained his closest challenger, battling back with four birdies on the back nine in round three to finish at eight under par and keep the pressure on the leader.
As the final round got underway, Grehan looked to build on his morning momentum. He started strongly with birdies on 2, 3 and 6 to extend his lead to three shots over Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk) who carded six birdies in the opening stretch to fire himself into contention early on.
The back nine would continue in a similar vein as Grehan tightened his grip on the title. Birdies at 10 and 13 sent him further clear of Rafferty, while Hill and a charging Gerard Dunne (Co. Louth) began to run out of holes in their attempts to chase down Grehan.
The highlight of the round though would come on 17, with a huge local crowd watching on, Grehan would make a hole in one on the 207-yard par three, a four-iron struck sweetly taking a couple of bounces before nestling into the hole, sparking massive celebrations from the Baltray crowd.
“I won’t forget that for a while,” said Grehan. “Just a perfect little cut dead weight into the hole. Seeing everyone’s hands go up in the air. I didn’t see it go in but it’s really cool.”
From there the walk up 18 became a procession. With Rafferty already in the clubhouse at eleven under par, Grehan safely negotiated the par five 18th to seal victory and become the first County Louth member since Finbarr Ronan in 1985 to win the East of Ireland Men’s Amateur Open Championship.
“That’s what you play for,” said Grehan. “You try and win as many titles as you can so to do it this week with everything going on, it’s really cool and I’m very, very happy.”
There was also double joy for County Louth as Gavin Tiernan secured the Under 21 crown, carding a final round 69 to finish three shots clear of Ciaran Murphy (Grange).