The Higgins clan will have enjoyed the get-together as much as the golf but David Higgins could have no complaints as he was outscored by two strokes by Limerick’s Tim Rice in the Winter Series for Munster PGA professionals at Cork Golf Club.
Marian Riordan hopes that beauty can conquer the beast when she becomes the first woman to tee it up in the Ladbrokes.com Irish PGA at The European Club today.
Pat Ruddy’s magnificent Brittas Bay links has brought some of Ireland’s best to their knees over the years, no more so that last season's Irish championship, when the cut fell at a whopping 19 over par
Marian mashes one on the first at The European Club.But Ladies European Tour pro Riordan, 28, is hoping that she can use brain power to her advantage when she goes toe to toe with the likes of triple major winner Padraig Harrington and the cream of Ireland’s club professionals in the country's oldest professional championship.
A modest 250-yard hitter (with run), Tipperary native Riordan earned her place in the field when she shot a six over par 77 on the Wicklow wonderland eight weeks ago to share fourth place in an 18-hole qualifier.
And she’s banking on her mental strength and patience to make up for her lack of muscle off the tee in an event that Harrington will be bidding to win for the sixth time since 1998 and the fourth in five years.
She explained: “I don’t try and compare myself with the guys. They are blasting it 300 yards with ease and I probably carry it 230 yards and it goes 250. But I work with (PGA pro) Gillian Burrell on keeping calm on the golf course and that’s where I think I will have a little bit of an advantage over some of the younger guys this week because this course will push you to the limit.
“If you don’t know how to handle that - if you hit a bad shot and come away with a double or a triple - you are in trouble unless you can dig deep inside. Once it starts going badly here, it can go really badly.”
