Cork golfer John Doyle in brilliant form to claim Irish Boys title
Flogas Irish Boys winner John Doyle with his coach Michael Collins after his win in Cork Golf Club. Picture: Niall O'Shea
John Doyle went wire to wire in Cork Golf Club as the Fota Island golfer produced a commanding performance from start to finish on the south coast as he was crowned the 2025 Flogas Irish Boys Amateur Open Champion with a four-shot victory.
Having come into the final day with a five-shot lead over his nearest rivals, the 17-year-old showed no signs of letting his advantage slip and although he finished one over par for his final round it was enough to see him take the title in comfortable fashion.
“I’m delighted”, said Doyle. “I really wanted to win this one ever since it got scheduled that it was on in Cork it was on the list of, I really wanted to win this, and it feels great. It’s kind of sinking in a bit now.”
Doyle opened his championship with a stunning seven under par 65 from the back tees in Little Island. He followed this with a solid two under par 70 in much tougher conditions on day two, but it was his third and final round where the Cork native showed maturity beyond his years as he plotted his way around the course, opting for the safe play, hitting irons off the tee where required.
“Those two days put me in a really good position, kind of took a bit of the stress out," said Doyle on the third day. “Going in with a bit of a lead you know you can play a little bit more conservative and take a lot of the danger out of some holes.”
William O’Riordan and John William Burke were Doyle’s closest challengers as the final round got underway but a birdie on the second helped settle any early nerves and extend his advantage.
Carding a level par 36 for his opening nine holes, Doyle would then go on to make his ninth birdie of the tournament on 10, leaving his journey back to the clubhouse a much more comfortable affair. Although bogeys on 13 and 15 may have slightly blemished the card, they would not affect the eventual outcome. The Mitchelstown native won by an impressive margin of four shots in a competitive field.
Barry O’Connell from Douglas was the next best-placed Cork golfer. O’Connell finished in a tie for 20th place after only getting to the event as first reserve on the morning of the first round. Cian McDonnell, Sean Reddy and Darragh Nolan finished a few shots back in the middle of the field.
Doyle is no stranger to success at this level, having claimed the Irish Boys’ Amateur Close title in 2023 but this time with the win coming so close to home, carried a little extra meaning. “This one is a little bit sweeter I think because I had the lead and doubts can creep in sometimes even with a big lead. I felt like I played pretty steady out there and it’s nice to get a stroke play win like that”, said Doyle.
He was also delighted with the local as he finished his final round on Friday. “There’s a heap of people out, I was surprised but it’s great to have people out there and then to not make a show of yourself in front of them is great as well, just to get it over the line. It feels good now.”
Doyle will make a quick return to Cork Golf Club, he’ll be there on Saturday for the opening 36 holes of the Munster Stroke Play Championship.
Play in Cork takes place over Saturday and Sunday. 75 golfers will tee it up on the opening day for 36 holes, with the top 30 plus ties advancing for the second 36 holes on Sunday. This year’s event is sponsored by Paul Buckley’s C20 group which are specialists in energy infrastructure and renewable systems.
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