Thomas Abom, a golfer from Dublin, clinched the Irish Men’s Amateur Close Championship, which was held at Dun Laoghaire. The victory was a consequence of a gripping playoff against his opponent, former Hockey player, Richard Sykes.

Abom commenced the final round of the tournament in the second place, was four strokes behind Sean Keeling, who was dominating after the completion of the 36- holes. Abom also dinged his card twice, carding 8 birdies and 2 bogeys for the first 18 holes. Abom carded a 71 in the third round, by taking a lead with 6- under par, with Sykes, trailing behind him by one single stroke.

Keeling, who was dominating at 9- under par after 36- holes, faltered during the third round where his performance declined with a score of 79. This gave a scope to Abom, who steadily put up an impressive show even under pressure and his consistency positioned him as the lead into the final round.

Abom carded a 72 in the final round, whereas, Sykes shot a 71. At this juncture, there scores compelled a dramatic playoff to be organized as their scores tied both of them to the lead. Thus, the playoff would decide their fate, by determining the winner of the Championship.

Abom failed a 20- foot birdie putt that he attempted, by a hair, thus scoring a par. This led to the playoff being prolonged to another hole. However, in the second playoff hole, Abom put up a fine display of his skills by hitting a perfect 9- iron shot from 146 yards that landed just three feet from the hole. He then sank the birdie putt, claiming the triumph in the Championship.

Sykes claimed the position of the runner up with a cumulative score of 68, 73, 70, and 71 scoring a total of 6- under par after the final round. Quentin Carew, who became the runner up of the Championship in 2021 and the winner in 2022, scored a cumulative of 71, 74, 74 and 73 in all the rounds.