Since the great Joe Carr’s debut in 1967, Christy O’Connor Junior (1977), Garth McGimpsey (1986), Ronan Rafferty (1990), David Feherty (1992), Darren Clarke (1998), Padraig Harrington (2000), Paul McGinley (2002), Michael Hoey (2002), Graeme McDowell (2005), Brian McElhinney (2006), Rory McIlroy (2009), Alan Dunbar (2013) and Shane Lowry (2015) all made their first appearances at the most pristine parkland in golf.
For his unforgettable win at the Amateur Championship in Portmarnock, Mallow man Sugrue takes his place amongst that esteemed list, still pinching himself that an envelope arrived, albeit a long time ago now, postmarked ‘Augusta, GA’ to his little corner of Ireland.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE IN IRISH GOLFER - THE GUI'S MEDIA PARTNER
Image by Golffile. James Sugrue during practice at Augusta National, GA.