Big Peter O’Keeffe became the first Douglas golfer to win the AIG Irish Amateur Close since John McHenry 35 years ago when he birdied two of the last three holes for a closing 65, then outlasted Castle’s Robert Moran in a three-hole aggregate playoff at Tullamore.

The 39-year-old former Irish Amateur Open and Munster Strokeplay champion carded a two-under 68 in the third round to go into the afternoon a shot behind Moran, who also shot 68, on four-under-par.

He was tied for second with Slieve Russell’s Shane McDermott (T10 after a 71), Malone’s Matthew McClean (T19/75), defending champion Hugh Foley (T5/70) and Co Sligo’s TJ Ford (T13/72), who fired a third-round 64.

But it was soon a two-horse race and while 21-year old Moran raced through the first 11 holes in five-under-par, O’Keeffe matched him with some brilliant golf before bogeys at the 13th and 14th left him three shots behind.

“I was on the phone doing the scores and I knew where I was all day,” O’Keeffe said afterward, recalling how he birdied the first, missed a short putt for par at the second but then birdied the seventh, eighth and ninth before getting up and down from sand at the driveable 11th to keep pace with Moran. 

“I like watching leaderboards. I stayed aggressive and went for the green on 11 and made birdie there, then made a nice save on 12 and then switched off for two holes which I tend to do from time to time.  I missed a three footer for birdie on 15 and said I’d just try to birdie the last three holes. I birdied two of the last three.”

The eventual champion hit a 184-yard seven-iron to 15 feet at the 16th and rolled in the putt and having narrowly missed a 20 footer at the 17th, he went to the 18th knowing a closing birdie could put Moran under serious pressure.

“I hit a lovely cut eight iron from 174 yards to 20 feet and I thought if I holed the putt I would have a chance because 18 is a tough hole,” he said. “And it fell in the front door. It was a lovely birdie under a little bit of pressure.”

Moran played superbly all day and quickly moved three shots clear when he birdied the first, fourth and fifth.

When O’Keeffe started to make birdies, he followed a bogey at the short sixth, where he came up short of the green and pitched weakly with a two-putt birdie at the seventh and a fine pitch and putt birdie at the driveable eighth to match the Douglas man’s outward 31.

He moved clear with a birdie at the 11th, gave himself chances at the 13th and 14th and got up and down for par at the 16th.

He stood on the 18th tee needing a par to win but blocked his tee shot behind trees and after deliberately snap hooking his escape into rough short right of the green, he played a good third to eight feet but missed the putt for the title and tapped in for a 66 to match O’Keeffe on nine-under-par.

"It's a tough hole,” said Moran, who played the 18th in four-over-par in regulation. “It's one of the toughest on the course and was harder today in the wind. You just need to play it well, and I didn't this week. My short game saved me yesterday, and my long game did today. It's good to know both parts are there. I just need to put them together."

Athenry's Allan Hill took the bronze medal on a countback from Forrest Little's Jack McDonnell as they finished in a tie for third on five-under with Foley in a five-way tie for fifth.

That meant a three-hole aggregate playoff over the 15th, 16th and 18th and while Moran drew first blood, getting up and down from sand for a birdie four, he racked up a disastrous triple-bogey seven at the 16th after pulling his tee shot behind trees.

With O’Keeffe over the green in two, the play was a chip back to the fairway from where he could still make four, or at worst a six.

But he attempted a miracle cut shot, got a friendly ricochet into the clear near the 17th tee but failed to catch his third and came up short in the stream that protects the green, eventually running up a triple-bogey seven.

O’Keeffe got up and down for par to take a two-shot lead to the 18th and while he was blocked out in trees right, he saw Moran miss the green left and chipped out sideways through a larger gap than he initially targeted.

He then hit a poor third that came up on the fringe, 40 feet away. But after Moran fluffed his pitch and failed to chip in for par, he could afford to three-putt for a winning double-bogey six.

“I am just delighted,” said O’Keeffe, who runs a strength and conditioning business from the gym at Douglas Golf Club, where close friend McHenry is general manager. “I knew this golf course would suit me because I hit a high fade and I had a great  ball-striking week even though I missed a lot of short putts.”

He described the playoff in his acceptance speech as “a bit of a pillow fight” but he was clearly thrilled to win another title, his fourth since his return to the amateur game in 2016 having already won the Irish Amateur Open, the Munster Strokeplay and the Irish Mid-Amateur.

“The playoff was scrappy,” he said.  “He made a few mistakes on 16 which was unfortunate and it’s always tough trying to work out in your head where you are. I blocked myself out on 18 but ended up having the luxury of making a six to win it in the end.  I was going to go through a smaller gap in the trees but went for the bigger one and while I hit a bad wedge shot, I had four putts to win.”

As for his goals now, he said: “My ambition is to win titles. I don’t care about WAGR and any of that stuff. I love playing for Ireland and I love putting myself in the mix because I generally do well.

Only a Walker Cup call-up would interest him outside the Irish scene and he’s happy to continue his quest to improve.

“I’m just really competitive and I love working on my swing the whole time and badgering Noel Fox on a daily basis with videos,” he said. “I love it. It’s my work and it’s everything to me. My wife thinks I have lost the plot completely and I probably have but days like this make it all worth it.”

He joins a rare club of players to win the Irish Close and Irish Amateur Open titles and becomes the 13th member alongside Robbie Cannon, Pádraig Harrington, Tom Craddock, Joe Carr, Cecil Ewing, John Burke, Jimmy Bruen, JC Brown, RM McConnell, Charles (CO) Hezlet, Lionel Munn, HA Boyd.

AIG Irish Men’s Amateur Close, Tullamore GC (Par 70)

Final

Detailed scores

271 P O'Keeffe (Douglas) 70 68 68 65, R Moran (Castle) 67 70 68 66;

O’Keeffe won 3-hole aggregate playoff 5-4-6 (+2) to Moran's 4-7-5 (+3) over 15th (par-5), 16th (par-4) and 18th (par-4) holes

275 A Hill (Athenry) 69 70 70 66, J McDonnell (Forrest Little) 67 73 67 68;

276 A Marshall (Lisburn) 71 68 68 69, H Foley (Royal Dublin) 69 70 67 70, S Murphy (Portumna) 68 70 72 66, A Ryan (Thurles) 68 68 71 69, P Coughlan (Castleknock) 67 75 70 64;

277 P Keeling (Roganstown) 72 69 66 70, P Conroy (Enniscorthy) 72 65 73 67, S McDermott (Slieve Russell) 68 70 68 71;

278 T Ford (Co. Sligo) 71 71 64 72, C Harkin (Letterkenny) 70 72 69 67, K Egan (Carton House) 67 70 72 69;

279 M Boucher (Carton House) 71 70 67 71, S O'Connell (Athenry) 70 68 70 71;

280 T Dowdall (Woodbrook) 74 69 70 67;

281 M McClean (Malone) 71 69 66 75, A Hickey (Galway Bay) 68 73 68 72;

282 J Blake (The Island) 72 69 66 75, A Fahy (Dun Laoghaire) 71 70 70 71, C Butler (Kinsale) 68 68 78 68;

283 J Fox (Portmarnock) 76 67 72 68, S Cunningham (Esker Hills) 73 70 72 68, B Best (Rathmore) 73 70 70 70;

284 E Griffin (Waterford) 72 71 69 72, D McCormack (Corrstown) 72 70 68 74, D Shiel (Powerscourt) 69 68 72 75;

285 D Kitt (Athenry) 73 70 73 69, G Bohill (Co. Louth) 73 67 73 72, A Smith (Mullingar) 72 69 71 73, R Griffin (Ballybofey & Stranorlar GC) 71 70 74 70, C Rafferty (Dundalk) 70 73 73 69, S Doyle (Athlone) 70 71 70 74;

286 G Dunne (Co. Louth) 72 70 75 69, R Latimer (Knock) 71 72 71 72, L Abom (Edmondstown) 71 70 71 74, R Abernethy (DunLaoghaire) 67 73 74 72;

287 R Cannon (Balbriggan) 69 72 73 73, P O'Hanlon (Carton House) 68 70 76 73;

288 I Lynch (Rosslare) 70 71 74 73;

289 E Murphy (Dundalk) 72 71 74 72, J Law (East Cork) 71 67 77 74, J Egan (Muskerry) 70 71 72 76;

290 S Egan Jr. (Tullamore) 76 67 72 75;

292 K McCarron (North West) 72 70 72 78;

294 D Marshall (Mount Wolseley) 73 70 71 80, R Halpin (Dun Laoghaire) 67 75 72 80;

314 C Rabbette (Esker Hills) 74 68 75 97.