Castleknock golfer Quentin Carew says he might have found form at just the right time after a busy start to the year as he prepares for another tilt at the Mullingar Scratch Cup.
Carew and his partner Maggie welcomed their first child, Lily, into the world earlier in 2024 and it was a case of family coming first for the 33-year-old Garda.
But an impressive performance in the recent South of Ireland may well have bolstered his chances ahead of the latest renewal of this illustrious crown.
“Golf hasn’t really gone the way I would have hoped most of the year, missed a good few cuts,” said Carew.
“We had a baby at the start of the year, she was born during the first round of the West and that was a big adjustment. It’s great, a whole new world and I’m lucky Maggie is very good at home.
“It was just coming to terms with practise was different, structure was different. You were just trying to keep hitting balls, getting used to everything. I took a while to come to terms with everything.
“The last month or so I came up with a better plan and a better routine and system, I saw a bit of a light there in Lahinch with a couple of good rounds. I’m hoping I have turned a corner in the year and I have figured it out.”
90 golfers will tee it up on the Mullingar parkland course tomorrow morning with Carew alongside David Marshall (Naas) and Ryan Lyons (Douglas) at 8.40am.
There are two rounds on Sunday with the top 39 golfers plus ties making it through to the final two rounds on Monday.
Luke O’Neill (Connemara) was crowned champion last year after he posted a stunning -13 total, which included three rounds of 68, and behind him in sixth place was Carew.
The former AIG Irish Amateur Close winner opened with a 73 but battled back with a 68 to make the cut and two further rounds of 73 and 70 were enough to secure an impressive result.
“It’s one you would always love to win. If you seen the names that have won it, it’s almost like a rite of passage for lads to have won Mullingar,” said Carew.
“With being so close to where I grew up playing in Edenderry, I would have played a lot of golf out there. It feels like a bit of a home game.
“I played my first one when I was 15 or 16 and I always had an affiliation with it. It would be one I would love to put my name on.”
View the tee times here