Cian Geraghty earned his first solo win on the PGA in Ireland region after he finished with a flourish to capture the Ballymore Newlands Pro-Am.
Geraghty defied gusts of over 50km/h to card a one-under 71 which included back to back birdies to finish as he pipped Richard Kilpatrick and Colm Moriarty by the minimum and was the only player to end the day in red figures.
“Yeah, I’m absolutely delighted,” smiled Geraghty. “It’s tough to win on the Irish region where the standards very, very good, you know, the scores this year have been really low and it’s, you know, it’s good. Today really suited me, to be honest with the wind.”
Geraghty who felt right at home in the wind, being of links pedigree coming from Bettystown managed to manoeuvre his golf ball around the tight Newlands course. The Newlands Pro-Am is now in its fourth year on the region and the Dundalk clubman was delighted to win at such a popular event.
“The greens are just unbelievable like. You couldn’t fault them at all and they’re so fast they give you a downhill put down when it was nearly impossible. Gravity was just going to do its job there. You didn’t have to do anything to it.
“It’s brilliant and we’re very fortunate in the Irish region, like when we go to golf courses, especially like Newlands here, and the way the course presented us, it’s really top notch.”
Geraghty began his day from the tenth tee and dropped a shot on the 17th but was soon back to level-par with a birdie on the par-5 2nd.
The leaderboard was tightly packed with players flirting with an under par score before being eventually undone by the win and Geraghty fell over par with a bogey on 7 but rallied in style with birdies on 8 and 9 to edge over the line.
“I knew on a day like that anything around level par is going to be a really good score. I bogeyed 7, my 16th hole. It’s down by the road. You have to try and slice it and I’m a drawer, so it’s time where I just try fade it, not slice it, because you don’t want the block sliced there either. It’s on the M7, so into the trees, hacked it out, gave myself a per chance, didn’t get it went on then birdie and birdie on 9, really nice. I kind of knew at that point if I got it under par I’d be very hard to beat.”
Geraghty has been in fine form this season but has often lamented a bad hole here and there in the pro-ams while he did cruise to victory at the Assistants qualifier in Co. Meath Golf Club recently, a golf course where level-par has often been good enough to win in previous years.
“Yeah, like my game, it’s been really good this year. I’m doing a lot of work, not just in golf but on other things as well, and it’s it’s definitely improving. Do you know, it’s just hard. I was only saying to a pal of mine the other day, like I came back from and Julia Proam played lovely golf and one bad hole and you’re kind of thinking like jeez what like. How do people shoot scores, you know, it’s just, it can be just tough.”
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TEAM RESULTS
WINNERS: 86pts – Patrick Geraghty, Druids Glen, Declan Ryan, Dom Burrows, Mark Nangle
RUNNERS-UP: 84pts – Tim Rice, Limerick, Gerry Greene, Barry Nestor, Theo Rouillier
THIRD: 83pts – Paddy Devine, Sutton, Eamonn T Nolan, Michael Byrne, Sean Maher
NEAREST THE PIN HOLE 9: Colum O’Carroll
PROFESSIONAL RESULTS
Pro Winner: Cian Geraghty, Dundalk 70 (-1)
Runner Up: Richard Kilpatrick, Banbridge, Colm Moriarty, Glasson Lakehouse 71 (Level)
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