Young faces betrayed the cruel demands of battle, when Michael McDermott captured the Standard Life West of Ireland Championship in wind and rain-showers at Rosses Point yesterday. "It's been very stressful, not a pleasant feeling," said the 21-yearold Stackstown player after beating favourite Michael Hoey by 2 and 1 in the final.
But McDermott, who triumphed close to the native place of his father Noel, was prepared to endure such pressure so as to take his place among the leading players in the country. And he completed the rare distinction of winning this coveted title after leading the qualifiers with a level-par total of 142 last Saturday.
Hoey, whose father Brian won the West in 1977, was attempting to emulate the achievement of Roddy and Joe Carr. After brilliant play for seven rounds, however, the sparkle deserted his game when he needed it most and from a position of four down after eight, he was always struggling.
"I just didn't play well," he said, clearly crushed by failure. "I didn't feel as comfortable as this morning and I'm afraid it showed in my game."
The morning had certainly been encouraging for the Shandon Park player. With a run of birdie, par, birdie, he won the 10th, 11th and 12th to be three up at that stage of his semi-final with Garth McGimpsey. And when the match ended on the 16th green, Hoey was four under par, giving him approximate figures of 14 under par for 70 match-play holes.
Meanwhile, McDermott seemed to be coasting to the most comfortable of victories over Stephen Browne of Hermitage when he opened up a four-hole lead after 10. From then on, however, he seemed to lose concentration and after three-putting the 14th and 17th, he was eventually taken down the last.
With a one-hole lead playing the 18th, however, a solid par was sufficient. Browne, clearly anxious to birdie the hole to force sudden-death, charged his first putt five feet past and missed the return.
Hoey was a 1 to 3 favourite with the local bookmaking fraternity to win the final. And their confidence in the reigning North of Ireland champion seemed to be justified when he won the first for an early lead. From then on, however, his play became decidedly untidy, especially around the greens.
With figures of bogey, birdie, par from the second, McDermott opened up a one-hole lead. He then went two up when Hoey smashed his drive into the drain bordering the right of the sixth. And he went on to win the next two in par, birdie, sinking a 25footer for a three at the eighth.
Then came his first serious error. From a position 15 feet behind the hole at the ninth, he three-putted, leaving a four-foot return putt short of the target. Yet he remained three up after the 14th, mainly because of Hoey's slackness with the short irons.
Granted, the 22-year-old Ulsterman punished an over-aggressive approach by McDermott to win the 15th and reduce the gap to two holes. But the end came in rather muted circumstances at the 216yard 16th where, after McDermott had over-shot the green with a six-iron straight downwind, Hoey three-putted, missing from three feet.
Conditions were difficult and the tension associated with a major prize accounted for decidedly moderate figures of three-over-par from McDermott for the 16 holes played, while Hoey was seven over, with two double-bogeys. And in what came down to a test of discipline and mental strength, McDermott was a worthy champion.
Very much a power player, Hoey was often 30 yards outside his opponent off the tee. But the Stackstown player was content to settle for accuracy from an admirably solid technique. "Club members reminded me that Padraig Harrington wasn't a big hitter as an amateur, but he succeeded by keeping the ball in play," he said. "That's what I concentrated on doing." He went on: "It's really sweet to have won this title in my father's native county: he's from Riverside, near Ballymote."
McDermott's only previous victory of note was in the Transvaal Open last year. Now he has beaten a colleague from boys, youths and senior international teams. And he has greatly enhanced a fine, Stackstown tradition started by Harrington.
As for Hoey, he must not allow this set-back to deflect him from entirely realistic Walker Cup aspirations.
Semi-Finals M McDermott (Stackstown) bt S Browne (Hermitage) 2 holes; M Hoey (Shandon Park) bt G McGimpsey (Bangor) 3 and 2.
Final McDermot bt Hoey 2 and 1.