Bridges Cup player profile: Matthew McClean made the most of his first mid-am shot

In 2022, Matthew McClean was a name even the most astute followers of big-time amateur golf may not have recognized.

But they sure knew his name by September, after Northern Ireland’s McClean and the Republic of Ireland’s Hugh Foley tamed the field at the U.S. Mid-Amateur at Erin Hills to meet in the 36-hole final.

Why was this so significant? A couple of reasons.

Firstly, to that point, the Mid-Am, which was established in 1981 for elite, post-college amateurs, 25 years old or older, had crowned just one champion from outside the U.S. in over 40 years. One of the two Irishmen was guaranteed to be the second.

Secondly, McClean and Foley were roommates that week in Wisconsin. Not only that, they were travel partners who’d spent pretty much the entire week together — including the final.

And lastly, McClean, who eventually got the better of his friend with a 3-and-1 victory to win the championship, was playing in not only his first USGA event, but his first event in the U.S. altogether.

“So honestly, what happened is I really hadn’t heard of the tournament, pre-2022,” McClean said last week. “Mid-am golf in Ireland and even sort of GB and I is decent-level competitive golf, but it’s really more of a ‘go play a tournament for a weekend and have fun.'”

While many U.S. Mid-Am competitors enter with fun in mind, there’s a certain level of tension present that is lesser across the pond. The mid-am circuit in the U.S. is one of the most exclusive in the world. McClean, then 29, four years into its eligibility criteria, wasn’t all too familiar with it.

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In the end, a friend McClean competed with in Ireland, Marc Boucher, who had just turned 25, suggested going over to the States to play in the Mid-Am 2022. The rest, as McClean puts it, “was history.”

“I owe Mark a thank you and probably a beer for letting me know about it,” he said.

McClean’s lack of awareness of the U.S. Mid-Am isn’t unique to him. Of the 264 players in the field at Erin Hills that year, just 25 came from outside the United States. Part of the reason for that is just one of the 68 qualifying sites for the tournament is held outside the U.S. and the lone international site is in Mexico.

But by virtue of his World Amateur Golf Ranking, which was buoyed by some impressive performances back at home, McClean was exempt from qualifying and his win springboarded his amateur golf career.

In 2023, McClean, whose day job is as an optometrist in Belfast, played in some of the most prestigious amateur events around, from the Jones Cup to the Azalea Invitational to the Crump Cup at Pine Valley and Walker Cup at St. Andrews. That’s not even including his appearances at the 2023 Masters and U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club.

“So you know, you have your job and that’s totally unaffected by golf, that’s all the same,” McClean said. “But from a golf perspective, I think the main thing for me is it’s probably just the amount of people you meet playing golf— from different backgrounds, different countries, different lifestyles, all that sort of stuff. They have one thing in common: they all enjoy golf.

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“I’ve gotten to see a lot of America the last two years. You get to go out and play some world-class golf courses, but even traveling and, you know, going to different cities and getting the full experience has been bucket list stuff.”

Unsurprisingly, McClean initially pointed to the Masters as the best experience he’s had in the best two years, but he also raved about his time at the Walker Cup.

This week, his accolades will land him in another team event for the first time, the Bridges Cup, an annual Ryder Cup-style, high-level amateur event between U.S. and International squads. (GOLF’s holding company, 8AM Golf, hosts the event annually.)

“I love team golf,” McClean said, adding that he’s excited to meet most of his teammates for the first time this week. “The best event for me all of last year was the Walker Cup.

“Growing up in Ireland, we played quite a bit of team golf in club level. And then also in the last few years at national level,” he continued. “Everyone’s there for the same reason, you know, all good golfers, every golfer, no matter what their level, any sort of decent golfer wants to win, no matter what.”