It started in an Airbnb in rural Wisconsin. Matt McClean’s journey will continue with a Thursday tee time at Augusta National. At the age of 29 McClean is determined to relish rubbing shoulders with the world’s best at the 87th Masters.
McClean’s victory at the US Mid-Amateur Championship last September earned him a Masters spot. The Belfast player – McClean is attached to Malone Golf Club – travelled to Erin Hills with his fellow Irishman Hugh Foley. The pair ended up meeting in the final for the highest of stakes; McClean is also now eligible for June’s US Open.
“Throughout that week I was trying to think about it as little as possible,” says McClean of the Mid-Amateur’s bigger prize. “You try to push what you are playing for to the back of your mind. I birdied the 12th to go five up in the final and thought to myself: ‘You’ve only got one hole here and it can be finished.’ Hugh duly went birdie, birdie, birdie.
“As soon as he conceded my putt on 17 I knew I was playing in the Masters but it didn’t really sink in. It’s strange, you know you are going to play but until the invitation dropped just before Christmas it was all a bit surreal.”
The Mid-Amateur had been flagged to McClean and Foley early last year, on the basis that the lower age limit is 25 as opposed to 30 as it is in Ireland. “There was definitely an element of the unknown,” McClean recalls. “The main reason really was what you get for winning it.
“I had never played in America before. But on the [amateur] world rankings I was fifth in the field and Hugh was seventh or eighth. So I felt that gave us a chance, I never thought I would go there and be miles off the pace. We both wanted to and thought we could compete but getting to the final probably wasn’t what we both expected at the start of that week. Individually, I think we both thought we could get to the final but the odds of us doing it together had to be pretty high.”
McClean is a qualified optometrist but it remains to be seen whether that or golf provides his professional domain in 2024. The coming months, during which it would be a surprise if he does not feature for Great Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup, will dictate a lot.
“I went to school, did my degree then worked for a couple of years,” he says. “The plan in 2018 was to take some time out to play golf. I was looking at four years to play, practise then take a decision over whether to turn pro. Covid changed things obviously in 2020 and 2021. Basically I’ve got this year; if I’m turning pro it would be at the end of this year. It’s very much an ‘if’.
“With some invites for professional events next year, I may well take them up and give that a go. If there’s no invites and it’s a case of starting from the bottom, then I won’t do it. I won’t be going to mini-tours and doing all that stuff.”
But first is the thrill of Augusta. McClean’s family and friends will fill a house of 13 people. The golfer has endearingly kept his close friend, Stephen Gracey, as caddie rather than opting for a local bag man. McClean hopes to play buildup holes in the company of his compatriot Rory McIlroy but denies any sense Belfast golfers face a problem living up to the star billing of the four-times major winner. “Rory is in a league of his own,” says McClean. “I’ve never thought anyone compares the other players to Rory. He is so far ahead of anything that has come out of Ireland in terms of talent and wins. He is on a different level.”
McIlroy’s aim here is victory. For McClean, survival for 72 holes would represent a monumental achievement. “There’s no real way to prepare for this; you just have to throw yourself in and see what happens,” he adds. “It’s going to be an amazing experience no matter what. I need to try and be as laid back as possible and enjoy it. I don’t even think you dream about playing in the Masters, it seems that far off. The Open always felt more attainable, you can go through local qualifying, so that was always the thing in my mind. This wasn’t even a dream.”
