O’Neill Hopes for More Opportunities to Phone Home
Mar 15, 2022 | Men's Golf, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
This time a week ago, after playing the golf tournament of his life at the Colleton River Collegiate in Bluffton, South Carolina, Kansas State sophomore Luke O'Neill phoned his parents 3,797 miles away back home in Connemara, Ireland. He wanted to share the good news.
His parents already knew.
"I called my mom from the airport," O'Neill said. "She said they were pretty exhausted because they'd been refreshing the internet all day to see my results. She said they were probably more nervous than me."
O'Neill fired a 14-under par 202, including a 6-under par 66 in the final round, to share the individual tournament title, the first of his college career. He closed out the Colleton River Collegiate with the best round of his career, and his 202 final score was his all-time lowest for 54 holes. He led K-State to a third-place finish at 20-under par 844. The Wildcats' 10-under par 278 final round was their best of the event as they captured their second straight top-five finish and fourth of the season.
"It was a pretty fun week," O'Neill said. "It was my first major win, so I was pretty pumped. It's been years of playing. It's just an accumulation of everything, I suppose. This is definitely No. 1 among anything I've done to this point. It'd been two years since I'd won anything. The team played pretty well all week. It was a good overall week.
"I don't think there was any certain key to it. I was just present the whole week. A few times I got into trouble, and I didn't take the silly option and go for the green. I chipped out. On number three, I hit a bunker and got lucky with a kick and went up and down from 140 yards which kept the round going."
O'Neill finished the tournament with 39 pars, 13 birdies, an eagle and just one single bogey over the 54 holes.
"To go 54 holes with only one bogey," K-State head coach Grant Robbins said, "was incredible."
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.
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 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 September 14, O'Neill finished alone in fourth place with a 2-under par 214, which tied his career low for 54 holes.
It marked the first top-five finish of O'Neill's career.
Now he has an individual championship to add to his resume. It is an achievement he attributes to a winter break spent hitting balls with his father in Ireland. O'Neill's 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. Growing up golf dominated conversation.
Back home over the winter, O'Neill saw his golf game continue to grow.
"Definitely, my ball striking has gotten a lot better since last fall," O'Neill said. "I worked on it all over the winter. I worked with my dad fulltime every day and got back to basics for a full month about an hour or two a night. I can hit a few fairways now."
O'Neill headed into the Louisiana Classics at Oakbourne Country Club in Lafayette, Louisiana excited for the Wildcats' prospects. The two-day tournament wraps up Tuesday.
The Wildcats have two tournaments remaining — Mossy Oak Invitational and Hawkeye Invitational — before the Big 12 Championship, which begins on April 25.
"We're getting better and better in tournaments," O'Neill said. "We have a good group of lads. We were all together pretty much last year. We're a good team. The goal is to make regionals. We want to comfortably get in. Last year, we were two spots off. This year, we want to have a spot in the regional secured before the Big 12."
That would definitely be another reason to phone home.
This time a week ago, after playing the golf tournament of his life at the Colleton River Collegiate in Bluffton, South Carolina, Kansas State sophomore Luke O'Neill phoned his parents 3,797 miles away back home in Connemara, Ireland. He wanted to share the good news.
His parents already knew.
"I called my mom from the airport," O'Neill said. "She said they were pretty exhausted because they'd been refreshing the internet all day to see my results. She said they were probably more nervous than me."
O'Neill fired a 14-under par 202, including a 6-under par 66 in the final round, to share the individual tournament title, the first of his college career. He closed out the Colleton River Collegiate with the best round of his career, and his 202 final score was his all-time lowest for 54 holes. He led K-State to a third-place finish at 20-under par 844. The Wildcats' 10-under par 278 final round was their best of the event as they captured their second straight top-five finish and fourth of the season.
"It was a pretty fun week," O'Neill said. "It was my first major win, so I was pretty pumped. It's been years of playing. It's just an accumulation of everything, I suppose. This is definitely No. 1 among anything I've done to this point. It'd been two years since I'd won anything. The team played pretty well all week. It was a good overall week.
"I don't think there was any certain key to it. I was just present the whole week. A few times I got into trouble, and I didn't take the silly option and go for the green. I chipped out. On number three, I hit a bunker and got lucky with a kick and went up and down from 140 yards which kept the round going."
Luke O'Neill wins a share of the individual title at 14-under par 202 🏆🏆🏆#KStateMGOLF pic.twitter.com/xS6OKGGdaK
— K-State Men's Golf (@KStateMGolf) March 8, 2022
O'Neill finished the tournament with 39 pars, 13 birdies, an eagle and just one single bogey over the 54 holes.
"To go 54 holes with only one bogey," K-State head coach Grant Robbins said, "was incredible."
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.
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 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 September 14, O'Neill finished alone in fourth place with a 2-under par 214, which tied his career low for 54 holes.
It marked the first top-five finish of O'Neill's career.
Now he has an individual championship to add to his resume. It is an achievement he attributes to a winter break spent hitting balls with his father in Ireland. O'Neill's 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. Growing up golf dominated conversation.
Back home over the winter, O'Neill saw his golf game continue to grow.
"Definitely, my ball striking has gotten a lot better since last fall," O'Neill said. "I worked on it all over the winter. I worked with my dad fulltime every day and got back to basics for a full month about an hour or two a night. I can hit a few fairways now."
O'Neill headed into the Louisiana Classics at Oakbourne Country Club in Lafayette, Louisiana excited for the Wildcats' prospects. The two-day tournament wraps up Tuesday.
The Wildcats have two tournaments remaining — Mossy Oak Invitational and Hawkeye Invitational — before the Big 12 Championship, which begins on April 25.
"We're getting better and better in tournaments," O'Neill said. "We have a good group of lads. We were all together pretty much last year. We're a good team. The goal is to make regionals. We want to comfortably get in. Last year, we were two spots off. This year, we want to have a spot in the regional secured before the Big 12."
That would definitely be another reason to phone home.
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