IT WAS fifth time lucky for Banbridge’s Rory Leonard, who yesterday won the Radisson-Blu West of Ireland championship in Rosses Point in a nerveless display against Galway’s Eddie McCormack.
Leonard, who also beat a stellar field at the Lee Valley Scratch Cup last week, took the lead at the fifth, doubled it at the ninth and halved every hole after that to capture his first Irish championship after four runner-up finishes.
“It’s hard to put into words at the moment. It hasn’t really sunk in,” he said after his 2 and 1 victory in the final.
“I’ve worked very hard on my game all winter with Richard Kilpatrick, a good friend of mine. It’s really made a difference, and it’s been great to put together the results over the last couple of weeks.”
McCormack drew huge support, many of whom travelled from Galway to cheer him on, and it looked like it might be his day when he birdied the long third. He had erred right off the tee while Leonard had played the hole in textbook fashion, but while McCormack got up and down from 130 yards, Leonard took three from just right of the green.
The Galway player’s advantage didn’t last long, however – he three-putted the fourth for a bogey and the long fifth for a par, mistakes which Leonard capitalised on to go one up.
A brave par putt from 10 feet at the sixth stopped the bleeding for McCormack, but Leonard doubled his lead with a birdie two at the ninth.
From then on, Leonard played the perfect containing match, sharing the 10th with McCormack in par fours, the 11th in bogey fives, and then the next five holes in par figures.
The long, par four 17th seemed to offer McCormack his chance to erode the deficit. Leonard missed the fairway to the left, and from a poor lie could not reach the green. McCormack did, however, finding himself below the hole some 20 feet away. However, his first putt came up five feet short, and he could not convert his par effort after Leonard had made five.
“I can certainly feel for Eddie, as I’ve been in this position before several times,” Leonard said. “I knew I was going to get a hard match today though – I’m just delighted to have played so steady.
“There wasn’t really a vital turning point in the match, but Eddie had a chance at the 14th for birdie. When he missed that and I got my par putt, looking back, that was probably the crucial point for me.
“It’s special to win at Rosses Point – I’ve been coming here a good few years now. I know a lot of the guys here as well – we’ve played Co Sligo in the Senior Cup on several occasions, and I went to college with (Co Sligo member) David Dunne.”
Leonard and McCormack had impressed in their respective semi-final wins over Headfort’s Rory McNamara and Knock’s Michael Sinclair.
Leonard had surged in front with two birdies and an eagle in the first five holes against McNamara, moving three up after five, and although his resilient opponent came back at him with a birdie two at the ninth, Leonard replied immediately with a birdie at the par four 10th.
McNamara birdied the 13th to once again reduce the gap to two, but when handed another opportunity after Leonard missed the green at the par four 15th, he failed to two-putt from 25 feet.
McCormack, meanwhile, found himself two down after 11 against Sinclair, before three birdies in a row from the 12th turned the tables and left him one up.
Sligo Details
SEMI-FINALS
R Leonard (Banbridge) bt R McNamara (Headfort) 3 and 1; E McCormack (Galway) bt M Sinclair (Knock) 2 and 1
Sligo Details
SEMI-FINALS
R Leonard (Banbridge) bt R McNamara (Headfort) 3 and 1; E McCormack (Galway) bt M Sinclair (Knock) 2 and 1
FINAL:Leonard bt McCormack 2 and 1
Leonard bt McCormack 2 and 1
