SE: O’Neill Just Scratching the Surface
Sep 21, 2021 | Men's Golf, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
On the third week of August 2017, Kansas State head golf coach Grant Robbins and assistant coach Rob Murray spotted Luke O'Neill for the first time. The 16-year-old native of picturesque Connemara, Ireland, wore a white Titleist ballcap, a long-sleeved fluorescent green top, dark blue slacks, and wielded an angry driver during the round of 64 at the 2017 British Boys Amateur Championship in Nairn, Scotland.
Robbins, as he did almost every summer, flew overseas to inspect the top players in Europe with hopes of enticing a few prospects to move Stateside and play golf while gaining an education at Kansas State University. At the time, Robbins and Murray, a native of England who joined the K-State coaching staff in 2017, had no idea about O'Neill. But O'Neill's swing and ball-strike ability caught their eye along with his grit and determination.
"He was still pretty young," Robbins recalled, "but we kept tabs on him. A lot of schools didn't know about him yet."
Fortunately for Robbins and Murray, O'Neill stayed somewhat under the recruiting radar the following year due to a bout of severe tendonitis that kept him from competing in major events around Europe. Upon watching O'Neill again when he was back at full strength, Robbins asked him to visit K-State. It seemed like the logical step for O'Neill, who was eager to conquer new ground. His grandfather John was a very passionate golfer, his father Hugh was a highly respected golf professional, and his cousin Rory Sweeney was a pro at a country club in Ireland.
"Golf was always around the household," O'Neill said. "They talked golf all around the house, and dad read golf books and magazines. Golf was always there."
When O'Neill returned to Ireland following his visit at K-State, he blew up, as the Irish National Team member became one of the top amateur golfers under the age of 18 in Europe. O'Neill ranked eighth in the European Golf Rankings among players 18 and under and in the top-50 overall. The 2018 German International Boys Amateur Champion and 2018 Connacht Boys Amateur Champion, O'Neill was among the top-500 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. A pack of college golf programs came calling.
"I talked to a lot of ACC schools and a few SEC schools after I won a couple of events," O'Neill said, "but Coach Murray and Coach Robbins followed me the longest, and I thought they wanted me the most. I wanted to come over here and play against the best competition, really, or else I'd have to turn pro or go to Maynooth University in Ireland. I thought it would be good to go to a good school and play against high-level competition."
Only one problem. Covid-19 reached Ireland in February 2020, and by March the Republic began the longest lockdown in Europe. O'Neill couldn't get a visa until August, and he arrived two weeks into the fall semester at K-State. While still attempting to settle in and regain his shot, O'Neill tied for 13th at the Colonial Collegiate Invitational as a member of the K-State golf team. It was his only event in the fall.
As a freshman, O'Neill played in eight events total, including seven events in the spring that was capped by the Big 12 Championship, and his 73.60 stroke average ranked fourth for the Wildcats.
"He played really well," Robbins said. "Obviously, there's an adjustment for all freshmen, but especially for a freshman coming in from overseas. We tried to make sure he was comfortable."
O'Neill returned to Ireland this past summer, but he appeared to be at home when K-State opened its 2021-22 season at the Wildcat Invitational, which K-State hosted at Colbert Hills Golf Course. It's a golf course that O'Neill said that he had played "between 200 and 300 times." As the Wildcat Invitational concluded on Sept. 14, O'Neill, a sophomore, finished alone in fourth place with a score of 2-under par 214, which tied his career low for 54 holes.
It marked the first top-five finish of O'Neill's career.
"He was very impressive," Robbins said. "He'd been struggling a little bit since he got back from home with his ball striking, so we worked on some things mechanically with his golf swing, which always means a transition period. I was really proud of him. I don't think the ball striking was at its best, but he came out with a scoring mentality and was able to get it done. That's something we're really working on with him — your golf swing isn't going to be perfect every time, so you have to have grind-it-out rounds and have a scoring mentality. He did a good job of that."
O'Neill had a huge third round to build on his first day, carding a 3-under par 69, which tied for O'Neill's career-best individual round.
"I started off the event pretty poor at 4-over after eight holes, then I went birdie, birdie, eagle, and that gave me a little bit of confidence," O'Neill said. "My chipping and putting was pretty solid all week, so I grinded it out. You go through every event trying to win it. I'm my own worst critic. You're always thinking about how you can be better, but if somebody told me I'd finish fourth before the start of the week, I'd definitely take it and be happy."
One thing that O'Neill points to as a key to his improvement from a year ago is the usage of the DECADE system, a statistical profile and analysis algorithm that keeps statistics and pinpoints where a golfer loses and gains strokes compared to competition. Or as Robbins put it: "It uses analytics to help us with our strategy derived from data culminated from the PGA Tour." O'Neill appreciates the functionality of the system, which for instance, recommends a driver on some holes and not on others, and illustrates whether to aim a little bit to the right or a little bit left of the flag on the greens.
"It's one thing to tell your players how to play as a coach," Robbins said, "but when you can back it up with numbers and analytics you have factual data to share with your players."
Although O'Neill insists that he still must increase his patience on the golf course and "take a chill pill and take a step back if my round is going badly," he adds that "I sometimes try too hard because I just want it so bad."
And yet, the speed that Robbins and Murray spotted in O'Neill's swing along with his ball flight remains, and continues to grow stronger along with that ball-strike ability, grit and determination that were all present four years ago when they spotted the 16-year-old for the first time in Nairn, Scotland.
There's really no telling how good O'Neill might be by the time he finishes his K-State career, but Robbins, grateful for O'Neill's decision to join the Wildcats, strongly believes that there aren't many collegiate golfers quite like him in the nation.
"He was a highly sought-after recruit who was very, very talented, and what really sets him apart is his passion for golf," Robbins said. "He lives and breathes golf 24-7. He has incredible work ethic and is very competitive. It's just a maturing process, having a scoring mentality, and with a little bit more discipline, strategy and course management, he's just going to get better. The sky's the limit for him."
Robbins paused.
"He's one of the most talented players I've had in my coaching career," he said, "and definitely since I've been at Kansas State."
On the third week of August 2017, Kansas State head golf coach Grant Robbins and assistant coach Rob Murray spotted Luke O'Neill for the first time. The 16-year-old native of picturesque Connemara, Ireland, wore a white Titleist ballcap, a long-sleeved fluorescent green top, dark blue slacks, and wielded an angry driver during the round of 64 at the 2017 British Boys Amateur Championship in Nairn, Scotland.
Robbins, as he did almost every summer, flew overseas to inspect the top players in Europe with hopes of enticing a few prospects to move Stateside and play golf while gaining an education at Kansas State University. At the time, Robbins and Murray, a native of England who joined the K-State coaching staff in 2017, had no idea about O'Neill. But O'Neill's swing and ball-strike ability caught their eye along with his grit and determination.
"He was still pretty young," Robbins recalled, "but we kept tabs on him. A lot of schools didn't know about him yet."
Fortunately for Robbins and Murray, O'Neill stayed somewhat under the recruiting radar the following year due to a bout of severe tendonitis that kept him from competing in major events around Europe. Upon watching O'Neill again when he was back at full strength, Robbins asked him to visit K-State. It seemed like the logical step for O'Neill, who was eager to conquer new ground. His grandfather John was a very passionate golfer, his father Hugh was a highly respected golf professional, and his cousin Rory Sweeney was a pro at a country club in Ireland.
"Golf was always around the household," O'Neill said. "They talked golf all around the house, and dad read golf books and magazines. Golf was always there."
When O'Neill returned to Ireland following his visit at K-State, he blew up, as the Irish National Team member became one of the top amateur golfers under the age of 18 in Europe. O'Neill ranked eighth in the European Golf Rankings among players 18 and under and in the top-50 overall. The 2018 German International Boys Amateur Champion and 2018 Connacht Boys Amateur Champion, O'Neill was among the top-500 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. A pack of college golf programs came calling.
"I talked to a lot of ACC schools and a few SEC schools after I won a couple of events," O'Neill said, "but Coach Murray and Coach Robbins followed me the longest, and I thought they wanted me the most. I wanted to come over here and play against the best competition, really, or else I'd have to turn pro or go to Maynooth University in Ireland. I thought it would be good to go to a good school and play against high-level competition."
Only one problem. Covid-19 reached Ireland in February 2020, and by March the Republic began the longest lockdown in Europe. O'Neill couldn't get a visa until August, and he arrived two weeks into the fall semester at K-State. While still attempting to settle in and regain his shot, O'Neill tied for 13th at the Colonial Collegiate Invitational as a member of the K-State golf team. It was his only event in the fall.
As a freshman, O'Neill played in eight events total, including seven events in the spring that was capped by the Big 12 Championship, and his 73.60 stroke average ranked fourth for the Wildcats.
"He played really well," Robbins said. "Obviously, there's an adjustment for all freshmen, but especially for a freshman coming in from overseas. We tried to make sure he was comfortable."
O'Neill returned to Ireland this past summer, but he appeared to be at home when K-State opened its 2021-22 season at the Wildcat Invitational, which K-State hosted at Colbert Hills Golf Course. It's a golf course that O'Neill said that he had played "between 200 and 300 times." As the Wildcat Invitational concluded on Sept. 14, O'Neill, a sophomore, finished alone in fourth place with a score of 2-under par 214, which tied his career low for 54 holes.
It marked the first top-five finish of O'Neill's career.
"He was very impressive," Robbins said. "He'd been struggling a little bit since he got back from home with his ball striking, so we worked on some things mechanically with his golf swing, which always means a transition period. I was really proud of him. I don't think the ball striking was at its best, but he came out with a scoring mentality and was able to get it done. That's something we're really working on with him — your golf swing isn't going to be perfect every time, so you have to have grind-it-out rounds and have a scoring mentality. He did a good job of that."
O'Neill had a huge third round to build on his first day, carding a 3-under par 69, which tied for O'Neill's career-best individual round.
"I started off the event pretty poor at 4-over after eight holes, then I went birdie, birdie, eagle, and that gave me a little bit of confidence," O'Neill said. "My chipping and putting was pretty solid all week, so I grinded it out. You go through every event trying to win it. I'm my own worst critic. You're always thinking about how you can be better, but if somebody told me I'd finish fourth before the start of the week, I'd definitely take it and be happy."
One thing that O'Neill points to as a key to his improvement from a year ago is the usage of the DECADE system, a statistical profile and analysis algorithm that keeps statistics and pinpoints where a golfer loses and gains strokes compared to competition. Or as Robbins put it: "It uses analytics to help us with our strategy derived from data culminated from the PGA Tour." O'Neill appreciates the functionality of the system, which for instance, recommends a driver on some holes and not on others, and illustrates whether to aim a little bit to the right or a little bit left of the flag on the greens.
"It's one thing to tell your players how to play as a coach," Robbins said, "but when you can back it up with numbers and analytics you have factual data to share with your players."
Although O'Neill insists that he still must increase his patience on the golf course and "take a chill pill and take a step back if my round is going badly," he adds that "I sometimes try too hard because I just want it so bad."
And yet, the speed that Robbins and Murray spotted in O'Neill's swing along with his ball flight remains, and continues to grow stronger along with that ball-strike ability, grit and determination that were all present four years ago when they spotted the 16-year-old for the first time in Nairn, Scotland.
There's really no telling how good O'Neill might be by the time he finishes his K-State career, but Robbins, grateful for O'Neill's decision to join the Wildcats, strongly believes that there aren't many collegiate golfers quite like him in the nation.
"He was a highly sought-after recruit who was very, very talented, and what really sets him apart is his passion for golf," Robbins said. "He lives and breathes golf 24-7. He has incredible work ethic and is very competitive. It's just a maturing process, having a scoring mentality, and with a little bit more discipline, strategy and course management, he's just going to get better. The sky's the limit for him."
Robbins paused.
"He's one of the most talented players I've had in my coaching career," he said, "and definitely since I've been at Kansas State."
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