Hurley and Co shift focus to Brabazon
Gary Hurley at the ninth during round three of the Irish Open at Fota Island. Picture: Thos Caffrey / www.golffile.ie
The Irish Open is history now for Gary Hurley, Dermot McElroy and Gavin Moynihan as they turn their attention to this week's Brabazon Trophy at Seaton Carew.
The pair lead a nine-strong Irish contingent to the Hartlepool track alongside Paul McBride, Stuart Grehan, Jack Hume, Cormac Sharvin, Daniel Holland and Robin Dawson.
Moynihan and McElroy missed the cut but Hurley shot 72-66 to make the weekend and eventually finish 73rd on eight over after weekend rounds of 81 and 73.
"It was a brilliant week, really enjoyed it," Hurley said. "It had everything in it. Highs, some very good highs and some pretty big lows. But it kind of evened itself out at the end of the week and hopefully next time I get in a position like I was yesterday I can handle it a bit better. I thought I played quite well considering I was absolutely drained from yesterday and the day before. I am just delighted to be here, to be playing on a Sunday."
Reflecting on his 81 on Saturday, he said: "There were so many people following me and cheering me on it was hard to concentrate on playing well without letting them down if you know what I mean. Hopefully I can learn next time I can handle the situation a bit better, maybe be a bit more mature about the whole thing."
He closed out his week by holing a 25 footer for birdie at the 18th and received a huge ovation.
"I was playing on my own, another experience for the week. I never played a competitive round on my own before. But I was great, so many people following me. I was off at 6.45 so for the people to come out is brilliant. It really means a lot."
Getting over the physical and mental exertions of Fota Island is the next step for Hurley, who believes he will learn from the experience.
"I think golf is 70 per cent mental. You have to be able to cope with highs and you have to be able to cope with lows, making bogeys and coming back from bad breaks.
"You can play badly and have a good round with a good mental attitude and get a good score, or you can play well with a bad mental attitude and have a bad score. It’s a big part of golf; that’s what I’ve learned over the last few years of playing and I’m trying to improve. It’s difficult but I’m getting there one step at a time.
"I learned a lot more yesterday (Saturday) than I learned any day this week. There are so many things you can do better. You learn from that, whereas when you have a good round you don’t really think of the things you did badly. You just cherish the good times you had.