Michael McGeady laid to rest demons of the past as he edged out close friend Colm Moriarty to win the Annesley Williams 9-Hole Matchplay at Sutton Golf Club.
McGeady held off the challenges of Michael McDermott and two-time winner Tim Rice in treacherous morning conditions while Moriarty edged Conor O’Rourke in a playoff and seven-time winner Richard Kilpatrick to book his place in the decider.
There was little to separate the pair who were level pegging after four, until an unfortunate break for Moriarty opened the door for McGeady to go 1UP after 8. McGeady held firm down the last and sunk a six-footer for the win on the last.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” said the former beaten finalist. “I just said stick to the process don’t worry about the result. I was thinking about just committing to the stroke. It was a case of standing up and hitting a good putt so thankfully it went in.”
McGeady took an early lead with a birdie on the first before holing a medium range par putt on the second to keep his nose in front. Both players made par on the par-5 3rd before a birdie for Moriarty on the 4th squared the match. Fatigue began to appear in the tricky afternoon conditions with both players unable to steal a march until the 8th.
McGeady and Moriarty were lying side by side over the back of the green, McGeady took the putter and laid it stone dead while Moriarty’s putt popped up on him at impact and cost him a bogey as he fell one back before McGeady two-putted for a winning par from distance on 9.
“I started off nicely with a birdie then made a nice par on the second to halve the hole it was nice to keep a bit of momentum. Lost the fourth with a bad approach shot. It was fairly scrappy I was just trying to not make mistakes, Colm got unlucky on 8 where his second shot ended up in a hole on the back of the green.”
It’s been a superb weekend for McGeady who was unsure if he was even going to enter the tournament given it was his daughter’s 16th birthday but he will head North with his name on the trophy and Oasis tickets safely in his account as well.
“Thankfully I came through the two matches this morning played solidly and now I am delighted to be stood here. I wasn’t sure if I was going to enter because it was my daughter’s 16th birthday. I felt by coming here I had to do something and try and win it. Thankfully I have won it and have the Oasis tickets so it has been a good weekend.”
It’s a third win of the season for McGeady following victories in Ballyneety and Connemara as he ends the season in the top-10 of the Elavon Order of Merit while Simon Thornton will tee it up in next week’s PGA Cup at the K Club as the Order of Merit winner on the PGA in Ireland region.
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