Admittedly, we here at The Loop don’t know much* (*anything) about David Clifford. In fact, we can say the same thing about the sport of Gaelic football. But after some extensive research* (*30 seconds on Wikipedia) we now know that this game is quite popular in Ireland, it differs from rugby, and that Clifford is widely considered to be the best at it.
But while we found all that impressive, we were much more impressed by what the 24-year-old did on the golf course on Wednesday. During the 2023 Irish Open Pro-Am at the K Club, Clifford attempted a similar shot to this famed one struck by Rory McIlroy on his way to winning the title:
Padraig Harrington on this Rory approach on the par-5 16th at the K Club that helped him win the 2016 Irish Open:
"Probably one of the greatest golf shots ever hit. If I was Russell Knox standing on that fairway, I would have clapped, because if you have to hit a wedge to the… pic.twitter.com/brvHYgdG0G
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) September 6, 2023
There’s a plaque there on the 16th hole commemorating that one. And for good reason. Even though he hit another fairway wood to about two feet two holes later to close out the victory in style. But back to Wednesday, it was Clifford who pulled off a similar shot—from even farther away. And our pal, comedian Conor Moore, was right there to document it:
David Clifford doing David Clifford things! 16th at the @thekclubgolf ! 290 yards out!!!! 15 yards back from Rory’s plaque! 3 wood stitched to 10 feet! Insane😮 👏 @IrishOpen_ @GolfIreland_ @Kerry_Official pic.twitter.com/tocYmD5Cmv
— Conor Moore (@ConorSketches) September 6, 2023
From 290 yards to 10 feet with a 3-wood? This guy is a pretty good athlete, huh? Well played, David Clifford. You are officially The Loop’s favorite* Gaelic football player. (*only-known)
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
