US win for Listowel’s JD Guiney

JOHN Daniel Guiney is back in the winner’s enclosure after enduring a tough time for the past number of years in the USA.

The 32-year old Listowel native fired a final round of 68 to finish four under par for the 54-hole event to win the Long Island Open in New York by two shots over the weekend.

A winner of the Kerry Boys Championship in 2003, Guiney then headed to college in Arizona, where he played collegiate golf for Scottsdale Community College and Rollins College and he was quite successful for a number of years both on the golf course and academically, as he graduated with a degree in economics. However, golf was always going to be his career of choice, so he turned professional.

After several failed attempts to gain his playing privileges on the PGA Tour and the Web.Com Tour, he settled in Orlando, Florida for a number of years playing the Mini Tours, often returning home to Kerry during the busy summer months where he caddied at Ballybunion.

During this time, an opportunity presented itself to become a caddy for his old college roommate Jim Renner, who was by now a successful member of the PGA Tour, and Guiney became a “looper” for a period of time but returned to the mini tour circuit again, with little or no success, so he then made a life-changing decision.

J D takes up the story: “I decided to quit tournament golf a while back as I kind of ran out of money, that happens. I was like ‘what am I going to do?’ I have an economics background but I don’t want to do that. I want to stay in golf.”

What he did was make a phone call to fellow Listowel man and Ballybunion GC member Seán Quinlivan who is the Head professional at Piping Rock Golf Club in Matinecock, New York, and Seán offered him an apprenticeship. So he packed his bags, headed for New York a few months ago and the rest, as they say, is history.

He now works under Quinlivan learning the ropes as a club professional while also caddying at the club in his spare time to supplement his income.

It was Seán who suggested that he enter the Long Island Open and the layout at Westhampton Country Club certainly suited his game with its old-fashioned pot bunkers, its slick greens and its exposure to the wild winds blowing in from the Atlantic.

“I’m enjoying playing golf again. I didn’t for a long time as I was placing myself under too much pressure,” Guiney said following his win.

The $9,000 winners cheque at Westhampton is not much when compared to what players earn on the main tours these days, but it’s the title and the win that matters to Guiney and here’s wishing him the best going forward.