Pádraig Harrington has his first victory of the season and this one is particularly sweet as he claimed the Tilestyle Stackstown Pro-Am on his home club’s 50th anniversary day.
Harrington gave a clinical display of score management as he chiselled out a bogey-free round of 66 to win by two shots on six-under-par. It was a special day for the three-time major winner who thrilled the few hundred spectators who cheered him on throughout the day.
“I was trying really hard today,” said Harrington who birdied the 1st, 4th, 7th, 11th, 13th and 18th but par saves on the par-5 5th where he topped a wood into a tree and the ninth where he holed a 12-footer proved just as important.
“I wanted to shoot a decent score and I wanted to break the 69 mark which I think is the lowest score I’ve ever shot here, maybe I need to take a few more risks to beat Michael McDermott’s course record 63!
“I bailed out on a few holes with out of bounds. I was too mindful of the dangers and things like that, it was a very professional round of golf I kept trying to stay away from the trouble, maybe too much, worked my way around the golf course. No bogeys is a very good sign.
“I putted very nicely which helps, that was the thing I will take from the day I don’t think I missed a short putt today so you will always score well when you do that. There was a strong lesson in how to shoot a score out there today, how to manage yourself around a course.”
It’s 50 years and one month since the first competitive round of golf was played at Stackstown Golf Club and Harrington’s father Paddy had the best gross score on that very day. He believes he was in attendance as a child that day so he was chuffed to keep some club silverware in the family.
Stackstown is famously the golf course where the 15-time DP World Tour winner learned the game. Sitting in the Harrington Room, which is dedicated to his career with memorabilia from his major wins, Ryder Cups, tour victories and special moments in his amateur career dotted gleaming in glass cabinets.
It’s a place he admits he must try and get back to more.
“There are some very happy memories, and happy days. There isn’t a day that goes by on tour that me and Ronan (caddie) are telling stories to ourselves that we have heard a million times over and telling them to players and people we are with about the crazy things that went on up here.
“It’s very nice to come back after 50 years and myself and Ronan played here on Friday and I really enjoyed the experience. Tougher golf course today in the competition, when you have to plot your way around it is a tough track, you have to be mindful of the dangers out there.
“We had great fun on Friday and I would be looking to come back more often and have friendly fourballs because there is so much risk reward on the course that it is a real fun course to play.”
Harrington looked like he was going to have to settle for a share of the spoils for a long time. Simon Thornton was on six-under-par with two holes to play but late bogeys saw him fall off the podium position while Stephen Grant suffered the same fate to share second place.
Castle Golf Club’s Ian Halpin claimed fourth place with a three-under 69 while Paul Eivers, Richard Kilpatrick, Niall Kearney, David Higgins, Michael McDermott, Joe Dillon and Colm Moriarty carded two-under 70s.
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