Irish Open: Gents Preview
THREE years ago, both Damien Fleming and John Ross Crangle were in the final group of the 2011 Irish Open in Deerpark. Both felt the tension and nervousness of the occasion in front of a large attendance in Killarney but after no amount of scares along the way (especially at the first hole on the Sunday), Damien pulled out a second Irish Open win out of three stagings amid fierce expectation and pressure from the local support. It is something that still gives him chills thinking about it. “I was under so much pressure that day it’s hard to explain in words. I doubt I’ll ever feel under as much pressure as that again and the only part of it I really enjoyed was when we were in the Dr Crokes clubhouse later that night celebrating,” the defending champion said of 2011 triumph.
John Ross unfortunately didn’t get into the shake-up over the closing holes but he did take positive memories away from the tournament. “I think any time that you get into contention for a tournament on a course playing it for the first time like I did that weekend I think you should take satisfaction from it. I thought it really was getting to Damien with his tee-shot on the first in the Final Round but you have to give him credit for the way he recovered so quickly,” he said. Considering Damien had only seven months to enjoy his maiden Irish Open success back in Royal Meath in 2009, it’s might be considered appropriate that he got three years to bask in the glow of his second success. Overall though, Damien is just happy to see the tournament back on calendar. “Realistically I think this is the future for Pitch & Putt in terms of embracing the International sphere. I think there should be an Irish Open every year but that’s just my opinion. The one thing I would say to anyone who is new to playing in this competition is to just enjoy the occasion because there is a social side to this as much as a competitive side. It is a big honour for the International players to be drawn with the top Irish players and I think it’s something that we should be mindful of a bit more,” Damien feels.
This weekend’s venue is one that has been kind to John Ross in the recent past, winning the Leinster Matchplay in Glenville back in 2012 but a Strokeplay success has eluded him at the venue. “I’ve never really done well in the Scratch Cups here so that’s something I’m going to have to overcome. There’s a lot of the Leinster players here who will fancy themselves however and I think it would be a good boost for the game if the winner was to come from the province. I generally don’t practice too much in the run-up to big events but I hope to get a few rounds in here before it starts,” the Irish No 4 said. Glenville is a course that is a course to the defending champion’s liking also. “I’ve always enjoyed playing there no matter what it has been in. I’m playing a bit more than I have been in recent years for this time of year but I still think it’s far too early to be thinking about trying to win the competition at this stage,” Damien said.
For John Ross it simply is a matter of playing the course as he finds it. “If you go out there with the intention of doing a 46 you could easily end up doing 56! I think you just have to play any course as you find it and not worry too much about what the winning score will be when it’s all decided.” In terms of the International field, Damien feels that it’s very unlikely to see one make an impact on the leader board come the end of the 54 holes. “I mean no disrespect when I say that but Ireland is totally different for the International players when they come over here and it’s very hard to see one of them get up there when it matters especially on a very Irish course like Glenville.”
Time will tell on the defending champion’s opinion on that particular matter but there are plenty of natives who are likely to trouble Damien in his second defence of this prestigious title. Considering he went to Hell and back on his home course three years ago in the final 18 holes you would expect him to be up for the battle however.