GOLF IRISH OPEN:DID YOU hear the one about the Englishman who went diving, performing a triple salko a la Greg Louganis, on the way to the biggest golfing success - so far - of his career? Splish Splash!
There are good times to take a bath, and there are not so good times! Richard Finch's unplanned dunking - fully clothed, mind - in the dark waters of the river Maigue that adorns the Adare Manor estate yesterday provided a touch of comic relief that, you figure, will stay with him for the rest of his career.
Will Finch care that he'll be the butt of range and locker-room jokes for a long, long time? Not at all, you figure. This victory in the Irish Open - where he shot a final round 70 for 278, 10-under-par, for a two-stroke winning margin over Chilean Felipe Aguilar, with Kilkenny's Gary Murphy finishing in a four-way tie for third place - earned him a cheque for €416,660 and catapulted him from 22nd to fifth on the European Tour moneylist and to 10th on the Ryder Cup list.
Of the 278 strokes which Finch took in claiming his second victory of the season, adding this title to the New Zealand Open, his third shot from the hazard on the 18th - one of golf's great finishing holes - will likely end up on YouTube and give him bragging rights with the American golfer Woody Austin, who got a dunking off his own in last year's Presidents Cup match.
"You know, until the third shot on the 18th, I felt quite calm and in control . . . and, then, it all went into a blur really," said Finch.
What happened was that Finch's second shot, a lay-up, sneaked over the water hazard line but still left him with a shot - just about - to the green. With a three-shot lead over Aguilar, already safely in the clubhouse, Finch only briefly thought about playing the ball back out onto the fairway. "When I got there, I thought, 'well, it looks fine. I've got room to swing and I can get my chance'. I never gave falling in (to the river) a thought. It never entered my mind."
The main thought process that Finch had was to ensure that he made decent contact with the ball so that it would get over the river and finish somewhere around the green. "As I hit the shot, I knew straight away I had made good contact. I don't know whether I slipped or went round with the momentum, I'm not sure, but the next thing I know I'm gradually falling down the bank."
Finch, amazingly, tried to keep track of the ball's flight as he plunged towards the river - a tributary of the river Shannon - but, as he hit the water, was unsure where his ball had finished.
"I didn't have a clue where it finished until I was in the water and then I had a bit of a rough time to get out because it was a steep bank and my feet were buried in the mud. Luckily, my caddie pulled me out.
"I sort of finished up in the water to above my waist and, then, I saw it on the green. So, then, I knew it was on dry land which was obviously the main thing at the time . . . I didn't hear the crowd or anyone laughing, I was just dumbstruck. I did think, 'God, it's going to take me a while to live this one down'."
This season has proven to be a defining one for Finch, who won his first tour title with the win in New Zealand and, now, has added the Irish Open and claimed the biggest cheque of his career. Finch's transformation has been remarkable.
A year ago, he went to the Mallorca Classic, the last regular tournament of the season, fighting to keep his card. Now, he is a two-time champion. The difference? "Everything. I'm driving the ball a lot better, my irons are a lot better and my short game is a lot better and my putting is a lot better. In New Zealand, it was a nerve-racking time but today I felt so much more in control. I just played my own game."
Murphy, who finished as leading Irish player, earned a cheque for €118,750 which moved him from 140th to 69th on the Order of Merit.
IRISH OPEN FINAL LEADERBOARD
278(10 under)
Richard Finch (Eng) 71 72 65 70
280(8 under)
Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 71 72 67 70
281(7 under)
Robert Karlsson (Swe) 71 70 69 71
Gary Murphy(Ire) 74 70 68 69
Maarten Lafeber (Neth) 71 71 72 67
Lee Westwood (Eng) 75 70 64 72
282(6 under)
Rory McIlroy(N Ire) 70 72 70 70
283(5 under)
Bradley Dredge (Wal) 68 73 66 76
Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 72 72 68 71
