Simon Thornton produced his best swing of the weekend when he needed it most and denied Westport’s own Charlie Walsh a fairytale solo victory on a drama-filled afternoon at the Westport Pro-Am.
Walsh, who learned his craft on the fairways of the Mayo club and returned to his boyhood club as an Assistant Professional earlier this year, began round two at one-under-par, two behind first-round leaders David Higgins and Michael McDermott, and one behind the quartet sharing third which included Thornton.
Harsh early-morning weather conditions left Higgins, McDermott, and Damian Mooney, who was also at -2, on the wrong side of the draw and though Mooney managed a level-par 73 and McDermott battled to a 74 which left them both in the clubhouse at -2, the clouds parted and the wind died, clearing the path for an afternoon shootout.
Walsh, starting on the 10th, parred the opening five holes but kickstarted his charge with a birdie on the par-5 15th and then added two more back-to-back to hit the front as he closed out the front nine.
Thornton, meanwhile, who started two groups behind Walsh, made an uncharacteristic error and found the water on 10 leading to bogey, and he dropped another shot on the index 1 13th but a 12-foot birdie putt on 17 turned his fortunes around and he followed up with a birdie on the par-5 18th to get back to level-par.
Several others made moves, including Colm Moriarty, Nicky Grant, and Niall McGlynn, but trouble lurked just about everywhere, and one-by-one they fell foul.
But Walsh continued to press on. Further birdies on four and five took him to six-under, before a bogey on the sixth opened the door once again and Thornton, who’d firmly put his shaky start behind him, had continued to close the gap and he reeled off three birdies in a row from the third to draw level.
The Westport man struck back by birdieing the par-5 seventh, and when Thornton could only par the hole, it looked as though it was Walsh’s to lose. But, chasing his first professional victory and with the adrenalin pumping through his veins, he overshot the green on the eighth with what he later called the “furthest hit 9-iron of his life”, but he completed a miraculous up-and-down to save par, then found the green on the par-3 ninth and watched a snaking, 25-footer slide agonisingly by on the high side.
He tapped in for par to rapturous applause from the gallery stationed on the clubhouse balcony having posted six-under, then began the agonising wait. Moments later, Thornton was cleaning up for par on 17 and made his way to the final tee.
Having selected a 5-iron, he sent a laser-guided missile right at the flag, pitching five feet away and coming to rest roughly a foot closer. And he made no mistake with the birdie putt, as Walsh could only stand and applaud the quality of the approach and the finish.
“Ah, it was class. I couldn’t really be any happier. I enjoyed every second of it,” Walsh said afterwards. “Going all the way, right down to the wire there with Simon making a great two at the last, but you’d kind of expect it.
“About six feet out I though it was in,” he added about his birdie putt on the last. “I was kind of walking after it. But fair play to everybody for coming out to support. Coming onto the ninth tee box and seeing everybody up there watching was a bit mind-blowing. I definitely wasn’t expecting it.
“But hat’s off to Simon. What a player and what a shot in there. He deserved to share it.”
Thornton, having gatecrashed Walsh’s party with his closing birdie, jokingly intervened to apologise to the young pro during the interview, and after officially recording his own score, the reigning Elavon Order of Merit champion and leader of his season’s rankings admitted that he hadn’t been fully aware of where he stood as he played the final hole.
“I don’t look at leaderboards,” he said. “I knew I was playing alright, and I was told by one of my partners that I was in the mix, and I could sort of tell by their mannerisms. I hit a beautiful shot into eight to be fair and it just got to the top of the hill and rolled back but I made four. Then it was probably the best shot I hit there on the last.
“That’s why I don’t look at leaderboards, because you’ve just got to hit a good shot every time if you can. I don’t want to put extra pressure on myself, and thankfully I hit a really good one there and holed the putt.
“I’m a bit of a party-pooper, I suppose. But fair play to Charlie on his home course because that can add pressure. I think he said yesterday that he was just trying to free-wheel and enjoy the two days at home and that’s what he did. It was a great score today and fair play to him, but fortunately or unfortunately, I matched him.”
Niall Kearney produced a four-under 69 – matching Thornton’s for the second lowest score of the two days behind Walsh’s 68 – and the Royal Dublin man took solo third place at -4, with Mooney, McDermott, Grant and Moriarty all sharing fourth place at -2.
The David Higgins-led team with amateurs Kevin Harrington, Aidan Moynihan and Andy Daly won the overall team prize with 188 points, beating Conor O’Rourke and his amateur partners Oisin Mahon, Charlie Gannon, and George Gannon into second place.
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