Stuart Grehan Claims Amateur Championship Glory at Hoylake
Stuart Grehan has won the 2026 Amateur Championship at Hoylake, becoming only the ninth Irishman to claim the historic title. The Tullamore native mounted a formidable comeback against American Matt Moloney, overcoming a three-hole deficit to secure a one-hole victory. This win secures Grehan invitations to the Open, the US Open, and the Masters, while confirming his place on the Walker Cup team for Lahinch.
How did Stuart Grehan turn the tide at Hoylake?
There is a quiet rhythm to a comeback. It starts somewhere deep, a stubborn refusal to let the moment slip away. Stuart Grehan knows that rhythm well. Trailing by three holes after the morning twelve at Hoylake, the Offaly man could have let the match drift into the Irish Sea. Instead, he found his footing.
Grehan struggled early, his swing betraying him with bogeys and a double-bogey at the twelfth. The lunch break offered a necessary pause, a moment to breathe and reset. When he returned, the music of his swing returned with him. He hit great shots, fighting back to square the match before the lunch interval ended, though he trailed by one at the break.
The afternoon belonged to the resilient. Moloney stumbled early in the second eighteen, handing Grehan a slender lead. The County Louth faithful, who had crossed the Irish Sea to stand on English soil and roar their support, carried him through the tense afternoon. A crucial twenty-five foot putt for par on the twenty-fourth hole kept him level. A sublime eight-iron approach on the twenty-sixth, settling five feet from the pin for an eagle, gave him the lead once more.
Moloney pushed back, reducing the deficit to one as they walked to the thirty-sixth tee. Grehan held his nerve, matching the American's par to write his name into the history books.
What does this victory mean for Irish golfing history?
A victory on English soil always carries a certain weight for an Irishman. Grehan is the first Irish winner since James Sugrue in 2019, and he follows in the footsteps of giants. Joe Carr won the first of his three titles at Hoylake in 1953. Grehan is now the ninth Irishman to claim the championship, joining a lineage that includes Jimmy Bruen, Max McCready, Garth McGimpsey, Michael Hoey, Brian McElhinney, and Alan Dunbar. It is a roll of honour that speaks to the enduring spirit of golf on this island.