McClean tied 10th in Azalea Invitational as Knightly clinches smashing win at Laytown and Bettystown
Matt McClean. Picture: USGA
Malone’s Matthew McClean tied for 10th in the Azalea Invitational in his final warm-up for the Masters.
The 29-year-old closed with a one-over 72 at the Country Club of Charleston in South Carolina to finish on five-under-par.
PJ Maybank III shot rounds of 66, 64, 68, and 64 to win by an impressive 11 strokes on 22-under-par from Hampton Roberts.
The US Mid-Amateur champion, McClean now joins Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Seamus Power at Augusta National next week.
He is one of seven amateurs in the field alongside Americans Sam Bennett, Ben Carr and Gordon Sargent, Australia’s Harrison Crowe, Argentina’s Matteo Fernandez de Oliveira and South Africa’s Aldrich Potgieter.
Meanwhile, Royal Dublin’s Richard Knightly won the Laytown and Bettystown Senior Scratch Cup to give his confidence a boost ahead of next week’s West of Ireland Championship with victory in the Laytown and Bettystown Senior Scratch Cup.
Knightly had to break into his own car just to make it to the 14th tee for the shotgun start and went on to shot rounds of 73 and 69 to tie with Dundalk’s Caolan Rafferty before beating him with a birdie on the third extra hole.
“So I took out the 7 iron to hit a few in the net,” Knightly explained. “I had to drive down to the back of the course as I was teeing off on14, but I left the keys on the boot lid cover. I have keyless keys so it always just opens.
“The battery on the keys went and no way into the car. Seven-iron through the back window to get the clubs and get down to the 14th.”
