Edmondstown golfer Thomas Abom has already announced himself on the Irish Amateur and collegiate golfing scene at just 19, picking up two huge wins in 2024 and the Maynooth University student is showing no signs of slowing down as the season draws to close with his sights fixed on the Irish Intervarsity Championship in Bundoran.
96 of Ireland’s best and brightest college talent make their way to the Donegal links with a men’s, women’s and overall team title up for grabs and though this is Abom’s rookie season in college golf he will surely be one of the tournament’s top contenders having been victorious at the AIG Irish Men’s Amateur Close Championship in Dun Laoghaire before picking up a debut win on the R&A Student Tour Series in Sweden.
“I put in a good off-season doing good work with my coach Donal Scott. It was just a slow and consistent improvement until it all came together at the Close and then winning In Sweden as well, so it was very nice to win that one, it was the icing on the cake at the end of a long year,” said Abom.
“I was already on a bit of a high after the Close and I just kind of continued the good form. Definitely happy to start off my college career with that, hopefully that start continues.”
The Paddy Harrington Golf Scholarship at Maynooth University has made the Kildare college one of the top destinations for young players looking to develop their golfing careers on home soil with programme manager and Palmer Cup International Coach Barry Fennelly at the helm, alongside top coaches Noel Fox, Johnny Foster and Abom’s own coach, Donal Scott, helping nurture the talent.
Last year saw Maynooth pick up the team title at Laytown & Bettystown with Thomas’ older brother Liam walking away as the individual men’s champion kicking off what has been an incredible 12 months for the Abom household, as sister Anna too capped off her fantastic season by picking up the Bridgestone Women’s Order of Merit title.
With much silverware residing at the Abom home in Rathfarnham a little bit of sibling rivalry is never too far away, and Thomas is hoping to get one over on the reigning champion and big brother this year while a final round grouping involving the pair would make this week all the sweeter.
“It’s kind of like a competition within a competition, first you see how you are doing and then you see how the brother did. Internally you are always kind of thinking whereabouts your brother is and if you can beat him,” said Abom.
“We were actually saying we would love one day to be playing with each other in a final group or something because we have never played each other, we play in championships for years even in the underage times but we never actually played with each other in a group so that is kind of a goal of ours, a final group.
“If the trophy stays in the Abom household it would be a success so that’s the goal, one of us to win it but I would prefer if I did.”
The Irish Intervarsity Championship tees off in Bundoran tomorrow morning with Eoghan Light (University College Dublin), Tom Clancy (Maynooth University) and Patrick Dunne (TUD) set to get proceedings underway at 8.20am.
Follow the action here