Eamonn Brady has made a significant breakthrough, only six months after turning professional. The 27-year-old from Royal Dublin captured top prize of $24,000 (Canadian) last weekend in the opening tournament of the 2001 Canadian circuit.
Because of climatic conditions on their home turf, the Canadians are forced to follow the sun at this time of year. Which explains why Brady's victory happened to be in the Myrtle Beach Open in South Carolina, where rounds of 68, 70, 68, 71 gave him a seven-under-par aggregate of 277, three strokes clear of four Americans - Aaron Barber, Dave Christensen, Derek Gillespie and A A Points - in a tie for second.
His triumph was all the more memorable for the fact that it couldn't have happened had he not hung around the Barefoot Resort all of last Thursday morning hoping to get into the tournament as a replacement. And after helping to serve coffee to starters in sub-zero temperatures, he eventually got the call, at the 11th hour.
A week previously, Brady had earned a conditional card on the tour in their Winter Qualifying School. Now, as the first alternate to win a Canadian Tour event, he is exempt not only for this season, but for the next two years. "I was looking for a place to hang my hat for the year and the Canadian Tour turned out to be the place," he said yesterday.
"It's brilliant. This has been a marvellous opportunity for me to make my mark in professional ranks." He added: "I didn't have any doubts throughout, even if the nerves took over when I was playing the 16th. At that stage I knew that if I simply concentrated on doing what had been working for me up to then, I would win the tournament. And I did."
His sights were set firmly on a professional career after he captured the West of Ireland title for a second time at Rosses Point last Easter. And while a leading matchplay victory did not necessarily reflect the ideal tools for a tournament career, he has confirmed his status as a proven winner.
It certainly stood to him in the climactic stage of last Sunday's event. Having appeared to be heading for a comfortable win, Brady had to withstand a late charge from Gillespie, who got within one stroke with two holes to play. But the Dubliner, who is a nephew of soccer legend Liam Brady, effectively secured victory with a 25-yard birdie putt on the 17th.
His strokeplay skills were very much in evidence at Royal Dublin last season. Shortly after shooting a 63 off the medal tees in a club competition, he went on to finish third behind Noel Fox in the Irish Amateur Open Strokeplay Championship on the Dollymount links in May.
A feature of that performance was a closing round of 67 in which he covered the outward journey in a sparkling 30 strokes. Appropriately, his final championship appearance as an amateur was also at Royal Dublin, in August, when he played for Leinster in the Interprovincials.
Joe Carroll, who was professional at Grange GC from 1946 to 1964, has died in Capetown, aged 87. A first cousin of Bill Kinsella, the one-time professional at Skerries, Carroll had the distinction of teaching Christy O'Connor snr, while resident professional at Galway GC.
In 1964, he emigrated to South Africa where he retired in 1986. He is survived by his wife Maisie and eight children.
