McGeady goes back-to-back with Cairndhu win
Michael McGeady
Michael McGeady made it back-to-back successes on the PGA in Ireland circuit with victory in the 36-hole Cairndhu Pro-Am.
Trailing by two shots as the final round got underway, the 39-year old fired a three-under par 67 to finish one ahead of Colm Moriarty and David Higgins on five-under par at the Antrim venue
McGeady opened with a two-under par 68 that could have been far better considering he was six-under par after ten holes.
“To be honest I actually played better on the first day,” said the recent winner of the Walled City of Derry/Foyle Pro-Am.
“After getting to six-under, I made two silly bogeys. I got one back with a birdie on the seventh (my 16th), but I made a seven at the par-four eighth and wasted three shots there.
"You are sort of hitting it over the corner of out of bounds. I didn't quite hit it that great.
“It's disappointing to do that on the 17th hole of the day because you don't have time to make it back up again. I played much better than the two under score I finished with.”
Moriarty shot a four-under 66 on day one to lead by a shot from Ted Higgins and Simon Thornton (67s) with McGeady's 68 leaving him tied fourth, two shots off the pace.
“It sounds a bit like a repeat of the win up in Derry, but on the second day I holed out really well,” continued McGeady.
Michael McGeady
“I holed from five and six feet consistently to save par and make a few birdies. They are so important to keep a round going.”
Out in two-under 32, McGeady came home in one-under 35 with birdies at the 17th and 18th proving decisive in getting him over the line.
He continued: “I went for a lesson with Donal Scott in the middle of May, and I noticed an improvement in my putting straight away.
“It left me for a while, but I just kept working on it and kept practising. Hopefully, I am not jinxing myself now, but I feel like I have discovered something in my putting which has helped me, especially to keep the scores going.”
The team event was won by Richard Kilpatrick (Banbridge) and his amateur partners, Paul Steinson, Stephen Watts and Hugh Logue with 175pts.
Cairndhu Pro-Am, Cairndhu GC (Par 70)
135 Michael McGeady 68 67
136 Colm Moriarty (Drive Golf Performance Ltd) 66 70; David Higgins (Waterville Golf Links) 70 66;
137 Damian Mooney (Damian Mooney Golf) 68 69; Simon Thornton (Simon Thornton Golf) 67 70
138 Brian McCormack Jnr (Edenderry Golf Academy) 68 70; Daniel Beattie (Deer Park Hotel Golf & Spa) 70 68
139 Richard Kilpatrick (Banbridge GC) 68 71
141 Damien McGrane 69 72.
