Maguire in dreamland at The Open despite missed cut

Alex Maguire

Amateur Alex Maguire might have crashed out of The Open after firing 80 on day two, but he was still floating on air after getting confirmation he has the game to make it on tour.

The Laytown and Bettystown star (22) missed a string of chances in his first six holes, but after making a double bogey six at the eighth, he started chasing the cut line and made further mistakes.

It was a bittersweet day for the Mornington man who looks likely to win a Walker Cup cap this year.

He will wait until he graduates from Florida Atlantic University in Florida to jump into the professional ranks, but he believes his play this week proves he has what it takes to make a go of it.

Asked what he learned from his first appearance in a professional event, he said: "That I'm definitely good enough to compete out here.

"I think obviously the score today is sort of an asterisk beside my career, especially my form over the last while. I think if you look at how I played, you would definitely think that I'm good enough to play out here.

"I think I hit a lot of really good shots at the right time, smart shots when I needed to. Like yesterday's one-over, it was probably the worst score I should have shot out there, and then today, obviously, it was just one of those days that you hit a few bad shots, and then the holes where you hit good shots, the course sort of kicks you in the ass.

"Which, yeah, I take away a lot from it knowing if I'm on my game, I can definitely compete out here."

He played alongside Japan's Rikuya Hoshino, who made the cut on two-over, and 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, who shot 72 to miss out on seven-over.

But despite his early departure from Hoylake, the Co Meath man loved every second of his first appearance in a Major.

"Yeah, my first ever professional tournament was at The Open, so I was sort of thrown right into the deep end, which was a little scary at the start because there were so many things going on," he said.

"But I couldn't be any happier that my first event was The Open. There are loads of positives, and I'm sure it sort of stings right there because there definitely was a chance of making that cut.

"I rarely play to make cuts, but today was sort of -- like I was one-over starting the round and then had a few good chances on the first six holes, like really, really good chances, and to give myself a cushion, you make two birdies in the first six and that gets you under par.

"But four ahead of the cut line. Then you can be very conservative on the back nine and make your pars, but once I made that double on 8, it put me behind the 8-ball.

"But there are so many positives from this week. Yeah, I'm sure that will all come to the surface in a few days, but right now, it's just a little bit sore."

The reigning East of Ireland and St Andrews Links Trophy winner paid a high price for a cold putter early in his round.

He missed a 10-footer at the first and lipped out from four feet for birdie at the second before missing an eight-footer after a superb tee shot at the par-three sixth.

The killer was a double bogey six at the eighth, where he found sand off the tee.

Still, he will never forget playing with five major winners this week.

After a practice round with Patrick Reed, he also got to tee it up with Open champions Pádraig Harrington, Shane Lowry and Stewart Cink.

"I played with a lot of major winners this week," he said. "I had Patrick and I had a great one on Wednesday with four Claret Jugs between us. I was the only one that didn't have one. And then, obviously, Charl is a fantastic guy. I think yesterday we didn't really speak much, and he was battling an injury, and I was trying to focus on myself.

"But today we talked a lot, and he said there on 18, he said it's probably the best swing he's ever seen. Obviously, look, it's a nice consolation walking up the 18th green and Charl Schwartzel, one of the best ball strikers of his time when he won the Masters, to say that I have one of the best swings he's ever seen is really nice.

"Then Rikuya, who made the cut, yesterday he was all over the place, and then today he made -- I think he might have shot 2-under. Phenomenal golf. I mean, he sort of battled his way back, and I was delighted to see him because he was such a nice guy.

"He didn't have much English, but even when he lost a ball on 5, and he was profusely thanking us for helping him look for the golf ball, he was so, so nice. So to see him make the cut and have a nice pay weekend this weekend, yeah, it's great."

Maguire will skip next week's Pierse Motors-sponsored South of Ireland at Lahinch to get ready for the Bonallack Trophy, where he will represent Europe in the match against Asia-Pacific at La Manga Resort in Spain from 3-5 August.