Galway star picks up valuable experience in Doonbeg and a lift for the rest of season
Liam Nolan was proud to show mental resilience on his Amgen Irish Open debut and heads into the business end of the HotelPlanner Tour season with renewed confidence.
The Galway man (26) closed with a one-under 69 to finish tied for 31st on three-under.
It wasn’t the career-best cheque for €41,342 that pleased him most, but the way he held his own against a world-class field.
“Very solid. Very happy with the week as a whole,” the Bearna native said. “I’m just really happy to play the four rounds and represent myself well.”
The high winds that blew early in the week didn’t bother him, and he heads now into his final five events on the second-tier tour feeling good about himself.
He didn’t allow himself to be distracted by the high-profile visit of President Trump or the superstars around him, having learnt “a lot” when he played in The Open as an amateur at Royal Troon in 2024.
“I was a young amateur. It was like Christmas Day, wanting to see everything and do everything,” he joked about a week when he deliberately hit balls next to Tiger Woods.
“I made a point with my caddie that we’re just going to treat this like any other tournament that we play.
“Obviously it’s huge; it’s an Irish Open in the west of Ireland for me, especially. But not to hype it up and try harder, pretty much; just to do what I do week to week and see where we go from there.
“I think that’s what I’m most proud of this week is how I held it together mentally… any time I got kicked out there, I was able to just put it behind me quickly.
“I’m just really happy. I was able to put four nice rounds together, and tee it up with some of the best players in the world, and prove that I’m not really that far off them.
“So I suppose it’s a bit of a confidence-booster, and I’m hoping to bring that into the rest of the season.”
He enjoyed his final round with Matt Wallace, who made seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch to shoot 66.
The transition from amateur golf to the pro game has taught him that on tour, especially the HotelPlanner, you go low or go home.
“Amateur golf doesn’t prepare you to shoot eight-under… these guys are shooting 64s every day,” he said. “So it’s a great place to learn how to fire at flags and just be aggressive.”
As for his cheque, he said: “I’ll be playing for money for a while into my future, hopefully. It’s more the experience for me, the learning.
“I’m only into my second year as a pro, so look, the money’s nice for sure. But I’m just out here to learn, really.”
Perhaps one day, he’ll get a chance to play an Irish Open in Connacht.
“Obviously, yes, I would love to see it,” he said. “In terms of a links course, County Sligo is probably as strong as we have.”