David Higgins and Michael McDermott were both among the last groups on the course on day one of the Westport Pro-Am, but the fading light didn’t seem to bother either man and their matching three-under-par rounds of 70 saw them share first-round leader honours.
Waterville’s Higgins began on the 10th and played 16 holes without a bogey, making birdies on the 14th, 17th and 18th holes before adding another on the par-5 fourth to get to -4. His only dropped shot of the day came on the penultimate hole, but he regrouped to par the tricky last and overtook the quartet in the clubhouse at -2.
“Yeah, I’m really happy with that,” Higgins said. “The wind was down, but it’s still always a tough test out here, so I’m very happy with three-under.
“I played really well. I pushed my tee shot a little on the second last hole and had a bit of mud on the ball so I couldn’t go over the water and didn’t get up and down, but other than that, everything was very good so I’m very pleased.”
With the weather forecast projecting stronger winds and rain on Saturday, scoring conditions are going to be considerably tougher, but as one of the Region’s most battle-hardened competitors, Higgins is relishing the test that lies ahead.
“No, I don’t mind the bad weather,” he said. “The forecast isn’t great, but I’m ready for anything and if I play like I played today, I’ll definitely be in with a shout.”
McDermott, playing in the final group, was pleasantly surprised to record what he termed a relatively “boring” round. The Grange man’s only dropped shot came on 16 after making birdies on the first, seventh and 10th. He closed out the round in style with a delightful chip from short of the par-5 18th and rolled home the putt to join Higgins who’d finished just 10 minutes prior.
“Yeah, I’m kind of surprised because the golf hasn’t been that great recently,” McDermott said. “But I played nice and solid there today and to finish with a birdie always makes the meal taste that little bit nicer.
“I reckon it’s been 30 years since I was down here. We used to come down here camping and it often used to coincide with open week, so we played it a few times then. It’s changed a lot since then – lots of good changes – and I really enjoyed it there today.
“I wasn’t really in any trouble. It was quite a boring round of golf which is unusual for me, but I holed a couple of nice putts and it was a really fun day.”
Dooks’ Daniel Sugrue had been the first man to post two-under. Playing in the first group of the day, he recovered from a shaky start and three birdies in a four-hole stretch to close out his opening nine put him in good stead.
Niall McGlynn of the Golf Ireland Academy moved alongside him soon afterwards, and current Elavon Order of Merit leader Simon Thornton made it a three-way tie at the top.
Damian Mooney looked set to break the deadlock and be the first man to record a round of 70 but a bogey on the last made him the fourth man to shoot 71, and they are followed by Colm Moriarty, Westport’s own Charlie Walsh, Andrew Hickey and Shane Irwin who round out the top 10 at -1.
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