Winter practice pays off for Brady

From the tears of five years ago, Eamonn Brady matured to a quiet smile of satisfaction yesterday, when capturing the Compupac-sponsored West of Ireland Championship for a second time. In the most bitterly-cold conditions imaginable for Easter - and a late one at that - he beat Mark Murphy by 4 and 3 in a largely one-sided final.

Murphy's brave young heart was crushed by a wretched start in which he lost the second, third and fourth for what proved to be an irretrievable deficit. "I was too pumped up and misjudged one iron shot after another," he said dejectedly. "That was a hard thing to come back from."

It most certainly was against a player of Brady's cool, highly competitive disposition. Indeed Murphy was acutely aware of facing a formidable opponent after the Royal Dublin man had beaten no less a figure than Garth McGimpsey in the morning semi-finals.

"After working so hard during the winter, I'm really delighted to have come through what was my first real test of the year," said the champion afterwards. "Though I was probably hitting the ball better five years ago than I did today, I now feel much more in control, mentally."

In a semi-final victory over Chris Moriarty of Clandeboye, Murphy birdied the ninth from 10 feet and went on to be two up after 13. He then proceeded to hole an eight-iron second shot for a winning eagle-two at the next, effectively sealing the win.

Meanwhile, Brady came from one down after eight to win the next three in-a-row against the four-time champion. And he made a crucial up-and-down par to take the 13th, where McGimpsey three-putted. Still, with typical resolve, the Northerner battled on, eventually taking the match to the 18th before Brady made certain with a 15-foot birdie putt.

"I felt I played well enough to win," said McGimpsey afterwards. But his disappointment didn't prevent him from remaining on after lunch to walk every hole of the final as a rapt observer.

For Brady, the boost of the morning win was greatly embellished by events in the opening holes of the final. Where he covered the first four in par, bogey, birdie, par, his opponent went par, double-bogey, bogey, bogey. And from Murphy's standpoint, it had to do with the ferocity of a chilling northerly wind, sweeping directly down the first from the direction of Ben Bulban.

The upshot was that at the 306-yard second, Murphy felt obliged to hit a four-iron second shot, which sailed 30 yards through the green. He was also through the green at the long third, where his problems were compounded by a duffed return chip. And he came up short of the green at the par-three fourth.

With a three-hole lead, Brady calmly pressed home his advantage. And some delightfully solid striking brought a rich reward at the 417-yard sixth. There, Murphy got within 15 feet of the pin with a glorious, three-wood second shot, whereas Brady's two iron missed the green short, right.

Murphy then held his head in agony as a birdie attempt slipped narrowly past the target. And having chipped to 10 feet, Brady proceeded to hole his putt for a priceless half in par. Indeed its importance was emphasised when he went on to win the treacherous seventh where Murphy was in water.

The only spark of light for the Waterville player came at the short ninth where he punched a three-iron to six feet. Though he didn't have to sink the putt insofar as Brady conceded, Murphy still went ahead and holed out to a big cheer from the hardy spectators.

But he was soon four down again after losing the 10th. Then, for the only time in the match, Brady was seen to wobble. After Murphy had holed a 20-footer for birdie at the long 12th, the Dubliner missed from four feet: his lead was cut to three-up.

Down the short 13th, the lead was further slashed when he found the ubiquitous drain off the tee. Not that the error mattered too much as Murphy won the hole by chipping in for a birdie. That was when we witnessed the stuff of champions.

After a wedge approach to 14 feet at the 14th, one could sense the importance Brady was attributing to his position. Having lined up the birdie putt with calm deliberation, he suddenly stepped away. Then, going through his pre-shot routine once more, he proceeded to hole it for a winning three.

Three-up once more, he ended the match at the next, by having the courage to hit a full sand-wedge over the left bunker to 12 feet from the pin. Now under severe pressure, Murphy attempted to do likewise only to come up short and in the trap.

Understandably, the 22-year-old disc jockey was a lot more subdued in the wake of defeat than he had been during his marvellous adventure up to that stage. Still, as one of the championship's long-shots, he had done himself proud by getting that far.

For 25-year-old Brady, who will be embarking on a professional career after the Amateur Home Internationals in September, it was an important step in building confidence. And from a medal-play standpoint in seriously adverse conditions, he could be pleased with approximate figures of one-over-par for the 15 holes, compared with five over from Murphy.

Semi-finals: M Murphy (Waterville) bt C Moriarty (Clandeboye) 3 and 2; E Brady (Royal Dublin) bt G McGimpsey (Bangor) 1 hole. Final - Brady bt Murphy 4 and 3.