The Douglas star (42) played on the Challenge Tour for five years before regaining his amateur status in 2016.
He then went on to dominate the domestic circuit, winning two Irish Amateur Opens and an Irish Close title and multiple Irish caps.
But while Irish golfers have won a string of amateur titles worldwide since 2008, when professionals Pádraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, Darren Clarke, Peter Lawrie, and Damien McGrane won eight times between them worldwide, our tour presence is diminishing, even with Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Séamus Power all regularly lifting silverware.
From having seven players in the top 40 on the European money list in 2008 (and eight in the top 100), there were just four inside the top 100 in the Race to Dubai last year with Tom McKibbin (21) the only one under 35.
For O’Keeffe, Ireland may benefit from better using our former tour winners, just as Spain, Denmark and Sweden have done in recent years, sending them out on tour with their up-and-coming stars, both amateur and professional.
“You can go through nation, by nation by nation and see what people are doing differently or not,” said O’Keeffe, who was announced on Monday as a brand ambassador for Pinergy, who will sponsor this year’s Pinergy Woodrook Scratch Cup with the Corkman defending on September 1.
“But again, all the experience is in Ireland. There’s no shortage of winners or major winners or no shortage of data that can lend information that can help aspiring players. So it’s a strange one, but I hope it changes.”
O’Keeffe hopes to add to his trophy collection this year and he is not only targeting next weekend’s East of Ireland Championship at Baltray but also the Amateur Championship at Ballyliffin from June 17-22.
He reached the quarter-finals of the Amateur at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 2022 when Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg — a future Ryder Cup star and this year’s Masters runner-up — also reached the last eight.
“I was having breakfast that morning with Aberg and (former European Tour winner and Ryder Cup player) Peter Hanson was caddying for him. Last year at the Amateur, (six-time European Tour winner) Niclas Fasth was there with the Swedish team,” O’Keeffe said.
“Roger Wessels travels with the South African team and Gonzalo Fernandez Castaño was with the Spanish team for a couple of years.
“Efforts may have been made in Ireland and it may not have worked out, but I just would love to see more of that. I know it would have helped me as a player anyway.”
O’Keeffe now runs a successful fitness brand, GolfStrong, and watches the new generation of talent come through the ranks and dedicate themselves to their fitness.
But he believes too many young Irish players are turning professional and getting trapped on the third-tier tours.
“First of all, I think in professional golf it’s too easy to turn pro,” O’Keeffe said. “You can decide to turn pro whenever you like, which in my mind, is too easy
“I think anyone who’s considering turning pro, I would say just enter the European Tour School and see where you end up. If you can go through 14 rounds at that level, that’s a fair assessment.
“But then you have to move to another level and sustain your card.
“What happens there from my own experience is you end up at that level for too long, and you don’t progress even if you are in theory, good enough.
“Everybody knew Rory was going to be a special player, and after he won the Irish Open, it was evident that Shane was going to be a special player. But I haven’t seen that since.
“I’ve seen glimpses of it in certain players, but I haven’t seen a player present that type of ability that he would go on to be what we all knew he would be.”
Speaking at today’s launch, Peter Bastable, Executive Chair of Pinergy said: “We’re delighted to welcome Peter on board with us as one of Ireland’s top amateur golfers. We are proud to extend our partnership to what has grown to be a titan of business in the golf community with Golf Strong.
“It has been an exciting few years for Peter and we were delighted to see him claim the Pinergy Woodbrook Scratch Cup last year. We are thrilled to be on this journey with Peter and Golf Strong and look forward to working alongside him for the next three years.”
