Golfer Dermot ‘Open’ for Irish success at Portrush

The Ballymena teenager is included in a stellar field for the eagerly-awaited Irish Open at Royal Portrush.

McElroy’s standing as one of the highest rated young golfers in Ireland has been rubber-stamped by the Golfing Union of Ireland’s decision to award him one of four places for Irish amateurs as the event returns to Portrush for the first time since 1947.

It will be the second time the Dunfane Park man will have teed up along with the best the European Tour has to offer, after making his debut in the event at Killarney last summer.

On that occasion, he missed the cut for the final two rounds but his scores of 71 and 77 were of secondary importance to getting a feel for life in the professional ranks.

Since then, Dermot has continued to gain vital experience - as well as collecting a few more stamps on his passport - and there’s no doubt he will be a stronger player to tackle the Irish Open this time around.

“It’s fantastic – I can’t wait,” Dermot told Times Sport.

“I will only find out on Tuesday who I will be playing with for the first two rounds and it would be class if I was drawn to play with one of the really big names.”

Royal Portrush is something of a second home for Dermot, having played the Dunluce links many times in the past, most notably in 2010 when he was beaten in the final of the prestigious North of Ireland Open competition by Rathmore’s Alan Dunbar who hit the headlines at the weekend by winning the British Amateur Championship

More recently, Dermot finished joint fifth in the Irish Amateur Close Championship earlier this month, following on from a top 10 finish in the Irish Amateur Open Championship at Royal Dublin Golf Club in May.

“I’ve played there many times – it’s one of my favourite courses.

“Portrush is all about your tee shot – there’s really thick rough if you go off course so you have to keep it on the fairway.

“If you drive the ball well you don’t have that many long irons into the greens and then, as with any golf tournament, it all comes down to how well you putt – you have to hole the putts if you want to make birdies.

“There are two ways of looking at it – some people say it’s just another tournament but it’s the Irish Open at Royal Portrush and that doesn’t happen very often.

“I haven’t set myself any particular target, other than to enjoy it. I’ve learned over the years to just go out and play my own game, try my best and take one shot at a time.

“I have a lot of family and friends and people from the club (Ballymena Golf Club) going down to cheer me on so hopefully I can play well,” added Dermot, who has targeted a place in next year’s Walker Cup – the pinnacle of the game at amateur level – before a possible move into the professional ranks.