Ever since 2004, when he was selected by Butch Harmon to attend a weeks tuition at the Harmon School of Golf in Texas, the future looked bright for the young Dubliner.
Niall would represent Irish and European teams at both Junior and Senior levels from 2004-2009, enjoying numerous successes along the way. He also captained the GB&I Boys Team at the Jacque Leglise Trophy in 2006.
Then there were the individual achievements... notably the Nassau Invitational win in 2007 and the South of Ireland title at Lahinch in 2008.
But 2009 is when Kearney made his mark. He achieved his greatest individual success by winning the Brabazon Trophy - the national amateur stroke play golf championship in England. This victory was instrumental in what happened next as Kearney was selected as the only Irish representative on the 2009 GB&I Walker Cup Team. Although on this occasion that team lost out to their stronger American counterparts, Niall’s individual contribution was more than admirable, securing 2 points from a possible 4, including a singles win on the final Sunday.
Shortly after his Walker Cup experience, Niall turned professional, and came agonisingly close to securing his full PGA European Tour card at the first attempt in European Tour Qualifying School.
Niall’s progress at Tour School saw him secure a full Challenge Tour category for the 2010 season , in addition to a low ranking European Tour category. This season he will play between 6 – 8 European Tour events, but his main focus will be on playing a full schedule on the Challenge Tour where the top 20 players on the end of season rankings will secure a full European Tour card for 2011.
Career Highlights
2009 Walker Cup Team Member
2009 Winner Brabazon Trophy
2008 Winner European Team Championships
2008 Winner South of Ireland Championship (Lahinch)
2007 Winner Nassau Invitational
2006 Captained GB&I Boys Team
Fact file:
Date of Birth - March 10th, 1988
Attachment:
Residence – Raheny, Dublin, Ireland
Turned Professional – November 09
