McIlroy retains his crown

Irish Amateur Close ChampionshipHe resembles a baby-faced assassin endowed with a coltish physique and ready smile but there is nothing callow about Rory McIlroy's golf.

Yesterday at the European Club he retained the Irish Close Championship he won for the first time last year, vindicating the assertion that he is not alone the pre-eminent player in Irish amateur golf but a golfer of immense potential.

In a little over 15 months he has won back-to-back West of Ireland Championships, repeated that feat in the Irish Close and was beaten in a play-off for the Irish Amateur Open. These are just his domestic achievements as he has excelled on foreign fields to boot. That he is just 17 years of age is quite staggering.

The last golfer to retain the Irish Close title was a certain JB Carr, 41 years ago at Rosses Point, a fact that merely endorses McIlroy's pedigree. The Holywood golfer, with father Gerry on the bag and mother Rosie watching from the gallery, didn't have to be at his best, just better than first Connor Doran and subsequently Simon Ward in the final.

Doran, celebrating his 24th birthday, found the young tyro unwilling to dispense much largesse. McIlroy won two and one, but not before a tense tussle in which the pair shared 10 birdies. Doran blinked first, spraying a drive on the 16th, a pivotal moment in deciding the outcome.

Ward, the 19-year-old Co Louth member, had accounted for Paul O'Kane by the same margin in his semi-final, an assured touch on the greens underpinning his victory. At 2.15pm he began his duel with McIlroy that would culminate two hours and 52 minutes later on the 16th green, the latter calmly rolling in a 40-foot putt for birdie.

McIlroy smiled: "I said to my dad that I was going to hole this and get it over and done with before I gave away another hole."

An errant wedge approach at the previous hole had rankled, resulting in a bogey that cut his lead from three up to two.

It encapsulated the real battle that McIlroy faced all week, keeping his concentration. When focused he was largely unplayable for his opponents but distracted was liable to toss a few morsels here and there. He did it in the final losing the seventh and eight holes, making double bogey and a three-putt bogey. He admitted to being mentally lax on occasion.

"I switch off all the time. I find it hard to get stimulated. For example, against Andrew Pitcher (third round) I played a flop shot on the 10th just because I wanted to not because I had to. Sometimes I need to play games with myself: 'try and birdie this' and things like that just because of complacency rather than boredom. I think it was a bit easier this year. Did I feel more pressure? Not really. I'm getting used to playing in front of crowds and the expectations on me."

This shouldn't be mistaken for arrogance or an attempt to demean any opponent. It's an honest appraisal of his mental approach.

Having gone from two up to all square, McIlroy won the ninth with a par and the 10th, holing a 10-foot putt for birdie to go back to two-up. The 11th and 12th holes would prove pivotal to his success, unscheduled visits to the fescue, redeemed by eight and 10 foot par putts that earned halves.

Ward and McIlroy swapped bogeys and holes at the 14th and 15th holes respectively before the latter brought an emphatic end to the contest on the 16th green.

Ward - who took delivery of a new set of custom-fit irons (Mizuno MP 60) from Fore Golf last Wednesday - admitted: "The putts went in all week but today nothing went in, they just seemed to roll over the edges and that was the difference."

He should be consoled by a place on the Ireland side for the European Youths Team championships next month. McIlroy now turns to the British Amateur Championship, which begins at Royal St George's next Monday.

"I'm looking forward to it. I've got to concentrate on the qualifying first and make sure I get through to the matchplay. It's a tough, tight course so this week should stand me in good stead. I suppose the key looking at the week was being able to drive the ball long and straight."

SEMI-FINALS: R McIlroy (Holywood) bt C Doran (Banbridge) 2/1; S Ward (Co Louth) bt P O'Kane (Moyola Park) 2/1.

FINAL: McIlroy bt Ward 3/2.