3 days ago
Smyth's advice for happy Howard: just keep winning
Making it in the big, bad world of professional golf is no easy feat but David Howard got some invaluable advice from one of Irish golf's greatest Tour players as he celebrated his East of Ireland win into the small hours at Baltray.
There is arguably no stronger hotbed of golfing knowledge in this country than the members' bar at County Louth Golf Club after the 'East,' where great amateurs such as Declan Branigan, Mark Gannon, and Barry Reddan shoot the breeze with Des Smyth and discuss what they've just watched.
Smyth, the eight-time European Tour winner and two-time Ryder Cup player, was out in links early on Sunday to see Howard hit a few shots in the third round.
He was there later that evening, too, as he marvelled at Howard's 211-yard hold-up shot with a five-iron to the par-five 18th that set up the two-putt birdie that gave him his first amateur major.
Howard's closing 70 in high winds gave him a one-stroke victory over Dun Laoghaire's Robert Abernethy on five-under 283. After the members had filled the Lyons Cup with four bottles of champagne, he stayed in the lounge chatting golf with the Baltray cognoscenti until three o'clock in the morning.
'Des was great,' said 26-year-old Howard, a native of the townland of Currabinny near Ringaskiddy, as he headed home with the trophy and a sore head.
'He said, 'Keep winning!' because that's the key.'
While Branigan, Gannon and Reddan never contemplated turning pro in the economically challenging 1970s, Smyth headed for the pro ranks on the back of an amateur career replete with victories - the 1973 West of Ireland title and umpteen scratch cups, which were the lifeblood of Irish amateur golf during its heyday.
Smyth won 11 scratch cups in 1972 alone, and after racking up 26 professional wins worldwide in a 46-year career on tour, his words hit home with Howard, who plans to try for his Tour card at the qualifying school later this year.
While he has a card on the third-tier Clutch Tour, where players like James Sugrue are regulars, Howard won't be paying too many £350 entry fees and plans to concentrate on the amateur circuit. And winning.
'It doesn't make too much sense financially, so I'll probably only play another couple of events,' said Howard, a trained mechanic who is playing full-time golf this year to chase his dream despite the handicap of suffering from Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic disorder which facilitates the colonisation and infection of the lungs by bacteria.
'I'll concentrate on the amateur circuit instead and hopefully go to Q-School.'
His next outing comes in this week's Connacht Stroke Play at Galway before he plays the Amateur Championship and local qualifying for The Open at The Island as well as the South of Ireland and Irish Amateur Close Championships.
He's now ranked second in the Bridgestone Men's Order of Merit behind Stuart Grehan, which means he's in position to earn one of two automatic berths on the Ireland team for the Home Internationals in Wales in August.
'I'd love that,' he said of the prospect of winning an Irish cap just a year after breaking into the Munster team. 'That would be a dream. Hopefully, my results help me get the job done.'
His emergence as an elite player comes as a revelation. He started playing pitch and putt, then joined his father, John and his brothers, including PGA professional Jack, at Rafeen Creek before following them to Fota Island.
He got down to plus two under the Congu handicap system, and while covid was a challenge for him due to his condition, he's never felt better thanks to modern medication.
While he doesn't have a full-time coach, he occasionally takes lessons with Kevin Morris at Fota Island and hopes to keep improving this season after winning the East without his A game.
'Driving would be my strength, but I'm working on my putting and performing well in tough conditions,' added the Cork man, who won the East Cork Senior Scratch Cup for the third time in a row earlier this year.
'I decided to try the Clutch Tour after Brian Kelleher at Fota Island suggested it would be a good way to compare your game to the pros.
'I've only played one event, and it didn't go to plan, so it'll mainly be amateur golf for the rest of the summer.'
He'll draw confidence from that back nine on Sunday when he played his last seven holes in two-under to get over the line thanks to that glorious five-iron to the last.
'There was pressure on the back nine, but it was tough all week from the tough side of the draw,' said Howard, who will remember his shot to the last forever more.
'It was a full send with a five iron - a little fade against the wind,' he said. 'To pull it off was lovely.'
