CLOSE FRIENDS Andrew Hogan and Cian Curley are one game away from meeting each other in the final of the Golfsure Irish Close Championship in Enniscrone after surviving marathon quarter-final matches on the sunny Sligo links yesterday.
Hogan was victorious on the first extra play-off hole against local hero Gary McDermott after an up-and-down match in which he had been two behind with five to play. Indeed, when the pair were level playing the last, Hogan appeared to have the upper hand, as he found the par-four in two while McDermott played from a fairway bunker into another trap at the front of the green.
But the Co Sligo player splashed out to eight feet and rolled the putt in to take the match into extra time, before Hogan played a majestic five iron from a fairway divot to within 10 feet of a tricky back-left pin position. With McDermott unable to get up and down with his putter from the front of the green, two putts booked the Dubliner a place in this morning’s semi-final against Limerick’s Pat Murray.
“It was a game I didn’t think I was going to come out on top,” Hogan said. “That second shot was my shot of the day. I hit it really good today. I’m just struggling to read the greens. The second shot was the crucial shot obviously. I felt really unlucky from the tee to land in a divot. It was a six-iron distance, but I just took an extra club and tried to punch it in. It went straight at the flag and didn’t leave it at all. Gary was unlucky with his first putt so all I had to do was lag it down.”
Hogan had earlier slaughtered Stackstown’s Richard Bridges by 8 and 7, having set up his victory by winning the first six holes with three pars and three birdies. “Richard’s a very good player, but I just got off to a flying start,” he said.
The Newlands player is also hoping the likelihood of an all-Newlands final will not distract him from a tough semi-final against Pat Murray, who ended the campaign of Banbridge’s Rory Leonard yesterday evening. “I’m just going to try and do the exact same thing I have been doing,” Hogan continued. “Cian is one of my best mates, but I won’t be thinking about that in the morning. It would be great to have the two of us in the final, but I’ll have to keep my mind on the job.”
Curley’s victory over Knock’s Michael Sinclair was not without its difficulties either, and despite being two down with three to play, Sinclair was able to bring the match into a play-off by clinching the 16th and 17th. But Curley held his nerve with a winning par at the 19th to keep his hopes of a first championship win alive.
“It was a tough game,” he said afterwards. “I went behind early, but I played really well around the turn. I picked up three birdies in the middle of the round which really helped.
“I should have won the 15th – only halved it. It got away from me a little bit on the 16th and 17th, but I can forget about that now. The job is done. He (Sinclair) is a tough player – at this stage the standard is very good anyway, so no matter who you play you’re going to get a tough match. This is semi-final number five for me, so I’ve definitely had the experience. I’m just going to try and keep doing what I have been doing all along – playing golf and having fun.”
Curley will this morning meet Moyola Park’s Paul O’Kane, who scored a hole-in-one at the 11th in his victory over Greystones’ Paul Dunne, and beat Athlone’s Keelan McDonagh in a tremendous battle on the 18th at the last-eight stage.
