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"It feels great to win the Irish championship, I feel like I'm building some folklore."

Background
Age: 31
Handicap: 4
Home club: Waterford GC.
Occupation: Sales Manager at Delice de France.
Golf hero: It's still Padraig Harrington - even more so with the Tiger Woods scandal. He's stood up above anyone else; a very respected person, hardworking and seems like a guy you could have a conversation with.

John -  the last time we interviewed you was after you won the Trilby Tour 2008 Amateur Championship. As if that wasn't enough now you've now gone and lifted the inaugural Irish title - congratulations on being crowned the Champion of Ireland! What's your secret?
To tell you the truth -  I didn't have any huge expectations, and I was out socialising the night before with all the guys on the tour. I had a bit of a head on the morning! I did factor in the socialising - my teetime was 12:20pm so I had a decent sleep in and breakfast.

I hadn't played the golf course for a long time but you know you just hit the ball that you see in front of you. With about 2 or 3 holes to go I was quite nervous to get the score, but once i got into the play off, I knew where I was and I relaxed. It truly feels great to win the Irish championship, I feel like I'm building some folklore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whats been happening in your life recently?
Well I'm still working for the same company Delice de France. I was promoted three months ago to sales manager so I've been really busy with my new job. I'm going out with a lovely girl from County Clare a couple of hours from Waterford. We've been together for a few years so we'll see where it goes.

You were crowned Amateur Champion in 2008 - how are you getting on with your bespoke clubs from Callaway?
They're super! Last year I felt they weren't really my clubs but now I've got used to them. I got the whole 14 set of clubs and I had some input into how they were designed. I spent a bit of time specifying which clubs I liked the look of, then figuring the shafts and which grips I liked, then we got into the scientifics of it all ie your swing speed, club head to go with this shaft or that grip.

They definitely make a huge difference plus mentally I'm going over the tees with clubs made specifically for me. I can't blame the clubs anymore haha! Now I have to blame myself.

Image © Gary Bray / UNiCOM

How do you feel about the final and facing the best players from across the land? 
I don't want to jinx myself and fancy my chances but I feel I'm playing well this year. I got my handicap down to 3.9 so my golf has been pretty good and I've been practicing very hard over the winter. I'd like to think the way that the tournament kind of throws out low handicappers into the playoff whereas the first year you wouldn't know which kind of guys would do well in this format.

Always try and put your best foot forward and do the best that you possibly can in any given situation.

My confidence is up, but I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing. I'm not going to get stressed. My dad caddied for me at Druids Glen, but my best friend Robbie is going to caddy for me in the final. He caddied for me last year and the year before. It was huge for me to win with him on the bag as he's been along for the whole set up. The bag's smaller this year which I think he will appreciate.

The final is on a Wednesday so we're going to travel across and make a week of it this year. We're going to get a practice round in Tuesday, meet up with the guys, John O'Leary and a few other guys we met over the last couple of years.

Your motto in life?
Always try and put your best foot forward and do the best that you possibly can in any given situation. Be the best person you can be, work hard and do well from a career perspective. Be good to the people in your life, your family and friends and most importantly focus on the right things.

Be good to the people in your life, your family and friends and most importantly focus on the right things

See full results of the Ireland Championship here

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