Dogged Desmond claims South of Ireland
Sean Desmond celebrates on the 18th green with his mother Fionnuala as he beat Keith Egan the Final of The South of Ireland Championships played in Lahinch Golf Club, Clare this Sunday evening. Picture: Brian Arthur
Monkstown's Sean Desmond wielded his putter like an offensive weapon to beat Carton House's Keith Egan by one hole and claim a dream victory in the Pierse Motors VW sponsored South of Ireland Amateur Open Championship at Lahinch.
The 21-year-old UCC student was not amongst the first or second-tier favourites to claim the 118th edition of Ireland's oldest provincial championship.
But having beaten internationals Conor Purcell and Tiarnan McLarnon and then edged out 2016 North of Ireland champion Sean Flanagan with a closing birdie in the semi-finals, he proved that he had the gritty determination required to become the first Monkstown man to win a “major” since Tom Egan won the "East" in 1962.
"It's only my third South of Ireland and to win, it's pretty cool," said Desmond, who battled his way back from two down after three holes to square the match by the seventh before proving more clinical on the greens as the final became an edgy, nip and tuck affair.
"To be honest, I didn't think I was at a level yet where I could win a championship. You obviously dream of winning championships. And I love Lahinch, it's my favourite course, so to rock up here and win is pretty unbelievable.
“It gives me a massive boost of confidence. I beat top-quality, world-class players and it just backs up what I am doing to try and achieve my goal of getting to the top of the amateur game.”
Egan, 26, had been superb all season and throughout the week in Lahinch, beating internationals Mark Power and John Murphy on his way to the semi-finals where he cruised to a 5&3 win over Newlands' Jake Whelan, the silent assassin who must surely capture a major title before long.
Egan’s now third in the Bridgestone Order of Merit which guarantees the top three a return trip to Lahinch for the Home Internationals and may well clinch the green jersey his season deserves though he must skip the “Close” at Ballybunion and will only play the final counting Mullingar Scratch Trophy.
He will be disappointed not to walk away the winner yesterday but like a boxer who was technically better than his opponent, he could not land a big punch down the stretch and got caught by a gritty scrapper.
He looked in control early in the final, playing the first four holes in two-under, winning the first and third with solid pars, to go two up.
But after pulled iron shots cost him the sixth and seventh and he had wrested back the lead with winning a par at the eighth, he found the dogged Desmond impossible to shake off.
Flanagan had suffered similar frustration in the morning, winning the 15th and 16th to go one up only to see Desmond win the 17th in par to square the match, then birdie the last following a greenside bunker shot he caught heavy but saw catch a downslope and scoot up to three feet.
Against Egan, the Cork man also found a way. He claimed the 10th with a solid par, got up and down brilliantly from the left for a half in par at the short 11th, watched Egan miss a 12 footer at the 12th and then edged ahead for the first time by making a slippery 12 footer down the hill at the 13th.
Egan had a chance to match him from around half that distance but missed and while he also shaved the hole from 20 feet at the 14th and then hit the pin with a bunker shot and salvaged a half at the 15th, his putter was ice cold.
Desmond had to play a wonderful, delicate chip to par the 15th but he opened the door when he missed a two footer for par at the 16th to leave them all square again.
But he refused to go away and after making a clutch eight footer for par at the 17th, he watched Egan leave is seven footer on an identical line short in the jaws.
Now one down, Newbridge native Egan drove into sand at the last and missed from 15 feet from the back edge for birdie, leaving Desmond two putts from 10 feet for the title which he gratefully accepted.
“We halved 15 with with outrageous up and downs and he didn’t give me a putt from no more than two feet on 16 I and I managed somehow not to be concentrating on the third last hole of a major,” Desmond said.
“But I holed a great putt on 17 from nearly eight feet to putt the pressure on him. It was dead straight down the hill so I just had to start it on line.
I played 18 great. I ripped a drive, he was in a bunker and hit a great shot out to be fair. I had an awkward lie and I just wanted to get it inside him on the fairway. And I just wanted to be inside him in three. He nearly holed his putt but I knew if he made it, I would have a putt to win.”
Asked to describe himself as a golfer he couldn’t find the right words but he knew why he was the last man standing.
“I hit the ball great, I didn't miss many shots and when I missed I didn't put myself in deep trouble. When it comes down to the end in a close game, knowing I had done it before. Knowing I could do it after winning close matches in the past was key. It was about staying calm and making good decisions and committing to shots, especially down the stretch, I was pretty good at that all week.”
South of Ireland Championship, sponsored by Pierse Motors VW, Lahinch
Semi-finals
Keith Egan (Carton House) bt Jake Whelan (Newlands) 5&3;
Sean Desmond (Monkstown) bt Sean Flanagan (Portmarnock) 1 Hole.
Final
Desmond bt Egan 1 hole.
