Rónán MacNamara in Royal Troon
Liam Nolan may have missed the cut on his major debut at the Open Championship but the experience has given him the hunger to get back to the top table sooner rather than later as he eyes turning professional at the end of August.
Nolan did ensure he came away from the devilishly difficult Royal Troon with at least one birdie to his name when a 412-yard drive on the par-5 16th set him up for his only red number of the week and he intends to mark more circles on his card at Royal Portrush next year.
“Yeah, incredible. It was really tough conditions out there. A lot to learn from my first major. I’ll be back. A lot to take away from it,” said the Galway man who recently finished his final year exams in NUIG.
“I won’t be playing this weekend, but hopefully now next year in Portrush will be my time again. I know the course really well, so plenty of positives to take. I hung in there as best I could out there and didn’t give up, so I’m proud of that.”
Nolan will have plenty of nuggets of information to take into his professional career after playing a practice round with current leader Shane Lowry and three-time major winner Pádraig Harrington.
“To meet two of my golfers that I really look up to in the Irish golf scene and to play with them and just pick their brains a little bit was incredible.
“I’m going to hang around, just go out and look at some of the best players in the world close up and see what differences there are in both their games and comparisons, as well, see if I can pick up on anything and obviously cheer on Shane there at the top of the leaderboard.”
Lowry and Harrington certainly possess great battling qualities no matter what the situation and that appears to have rubbed off on Nolan who gave every shot his absolute maximum despite knowing his chances of making the cut were long gone.
“Yeah, they were telling me to believe in myself. You’re not here to make up numbers. Although you’re an amateur, you’re here to play as good as you can, so just keep focused and hang in there. I kind of knew up the last few holes I wasn’t going to be making the cut, but I was proud of how I kept battling.”
Nolan carded a second round of 77 to finish on thirteen-over which is by no means a disgrace and leaves him level with Rory McIlroy who is beginning his back nine.
Family and friends have travelled to South Ayrshire to cheer on the 24-year-old and they gave him a rousing reception walking up the 18th.
“Well, it’s been the best walk so far in my golf career. I haven’t been to all the majors yet to compare them, but yeah, really special and great to have a crowd to cheer you on when it’s not going as well or if you’ve hit a good shot. It’s great to have them all there.
“I’ve been watching this tournament my whole life, especially with the Irish success we’ve had, and I don’t know, I just think like walking up the fairways and hearing big cheers and knowing how the course played and knowing the shots that the winner eventually hits, it’s just pretty special to be a part of the history of the 152nd Open Championship.”