Conal Keenan ‘22 Recruiting Profile

Personal Statement

I would be an excellent candidate for any elite level college team due to my high work ethic, dedication and enthusiasm to succeed at any task that I set my eyes upon. These characteristics along with my experience in leading successful teams in Hurling and Gaelic, whether it be at high school level, club level or regional/county level, prove that I would be a great asset to join a college team. Through these sports I have learned countless transferable skills such as teamwork, confidence, independence, resilience, and the ability to assess any situation and adapt to the ever-changing environment. I believe that with these deep sporting roots and with a bit of guidance from yourself, will lead to more success in my future career.

Additionally, over the past 5 years of my golfing career, I have been a member of the Golf Ireland Regional and Interprovincial squads which have allowed me to see how successful teams practice, plan and execute their game plans prior, during and post tournaments. I have learned how to evaluate my performances and to analyse the areas that need improvement in my golfing performance. With this data this allows me to create a detailed plan to improve my game which I think would be a great asset to have in your college panel. During the 2021 season I had a scoring average of 72.1 over 17 competitive rounds , while playing off a handicap of 1. During the 2022 season I had a scoring average of 72 over 20 competitive rounds and playing off a handicap of 0. During the 2023 year, I had a scoring average of 71.78 over 28 competitive rounds, while playing off a handicap of -2.0. Excluding 2020 (Due to COVID-19), I have competed in many Irelands, and Europe's biggest junior golfing events including the European Junior Open which I qualified for within my first 2 years of my golfing career and the North of England Amateur stroke play. These events have allowed me to test my game against the nation and continents best junior golfers. This year I competed in the main senior amateur events for the first time, and I am sure that further competition against these elite golfers will further add to my golfing experience, which in return will further improve my overall golfing performance. 

Furthermore, I graduated Rathmore Grammar School, Belfast, Northern Ireland in June 2022, with an unweighted GPA of 4.0 and I have sat an SAT test in which I scored 1090. From I started golf 5 years ago, I have been working hard on the technical, physical, and mental aspects of the game. For the technical side I have been working with Peter Martin P.G.A for the last 5 years, for the physical side I have been working with Colin Bell (Certified T.P.A qualifications) and in reference to my mental/psychological side I have been working with Dr Mark S Elliot from May 2021 which has incredibly helped my golf game. I know that my highly motivated, hard-working, and driven attitude toward both my golf and education would make me a fantastic addition to your talented roster as this shows that I have great time management as I'm able to operate as a excellent student both inside and outside of the classroom. Again, I have broad experience in positively leading or contributing to winning teams in both golf and my other sports which would transfer over to the way I operate and communicate with your excellent programme and your roster.

Finally, the next stage required to improve my golfing performance is to compete for 4 years in the elite United States Collegiate System, to test myself against the world’s most elite and advanced players.

College Goals:

• Win a Regional Team Championship


• Win a National Team Championship


• Win a Individual section of a college tournament


• Improve my World and European ranking


• Improve my physical, technical and psychological aspects of my game over the 4 years of college


• Improve my game and address any flaws so that I can take the next step into the professional ranks of the sport