Perseverance pays as Kearney takes giant leap with closing 61 in Tenerife
Garrick Higgo. Picture: Getty Images
Royal Dublin’s Niall Kearney flirted with a magical 59 before carding a course record-equalling 61 to clinch a career-best tie for fourth in the Canary Islands Championship in Tenerife.
The 6 foot 3 inch Dubliner (33) has been battling to make the grade for the past 12 years, but after 21 visits to the Qualifying School — 11 in Europe and 10 in Asia — he’s got a great chance now to secure his full European Tour card.
His first career top-10 catapulted him straight into the field for this week’s €2 million Betfred British Masters at The Belfry and up 74 spots to 99th in the Race to Dubai with the top 115 keeping their cards next year.
“Obviously, it’s great, a real positive,” said Kearney, who made an eagle, nine birdies and one bogey in his first 16 holes and needed two closing birdies for a 59 but gratefully settled for two closing pars on the front nine at Golf Cost Adeje.
“It’s massive because it gets me in next week, and hopefully, I will get a few more starts, and I can climb that Race to Dubai and hold on to a card.”
The Raheny man, a two-time Irish PGA winner and former Walker Cup player, won €51,014 with his Dad Joe on his bag as he finished on 19-under par, eight shots behind budding superstar Garrick Higgo.
Despite shooting costly, one-over 72s in the third round for the past two weeks, Kearney knew he was close to hitting top form after intense work with coach Eddie Doyle.
“I don’t know what’s happened the last couple of Saturdays, I’ve just had really slow days,” Kearney said. “I felt as though something was brewing, but it just wasn’t quite coming through, so it’s great to shoot around like that today. It gives me a lot of confidence going forward.”
Higgo (21) won for the second time during the three-week Canary Islands swing, and the sixth time in just 47 career starts.
“It's unreal,” said Higgo, who won the Gran Canaria Lopesan Open two weeks ago. “I can’t believe it has happened so quickly again, but my game has been good, so I can believe it as well.”
The South African made seven birdies and a hole-in-one at the seventh in a seven-under 64 to win by six strokes from Australian Maverick Antcliff and soar to 52nd in the world.
That Higgo already has six wins shows the level of competition facing Kearney. But he insists he’s never lost his enthusiasm for the game or been tempted to throw in the towel.
Niall Kearney is on 🔥🔥
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) May 9, 2021
Already 10 under for his round, he needs to finish with two more birdies for the European Tour's second ever 59. #CanaryIslandsChampionship #59watch pic.twitter.com/yahdg3hlyr
“We all know that this game is not necessarily fair, but I’ve put in a lot of work over a long period of time, there’s no doubt,” said Kearney made all three cuts in the Canaries, banking over €70,000 when he had originally planned to play the Challenge Tour events in South Africa.
“I’ve never had thoughts of doing anything else. I still love playing, I still love competing, I love the element of competition, so once I still have that love affair with it, I will keep going.”
Competition on the European Tour has become incredibly fierce over the past decade with the red-hot scoring of the last three weeks indicative of the standard,
“You just have to look at the cut marks the last three weeks out here,” Kearney said. “You can’t sit still and you can’t go out and shoot level par because that’s putting you under so much pressure. The last couple of Saturdays I’ve had very slow days. I shot one over the last two Saturdays and you lose 25 or 30 spots. The field just passes you by.”
While winning a full card by finishing the top 115 in the Race to Dubai is the goal, Kearney knows that if he can finish 116th to 132nd, he will have a far stronger category than he does now.
“The Belfry is going to be totally different to what we’ve played the last few weeks but I’m looking forward to playing,” said Kearney, who double-bogeyed the last when he needed a par to win a EurorPro Tour event there a few years ago but also has the good memory of a T25 in the event at Woburn a few years ago.
“It’s massive to get in next week because it gives me another chance to get up that Race to Dubai and give myself some sort of buffer because there are weeks that I’m not going to get into tournaments so I need to move up to give myself some sort of leeway.
“A lot of credit is due to my coach Eddie Doyle. He’s just tightened everything up and there’s nothing loose anymore with my swing. When I’m on the range, I trying to hit the middle zero off the 200 sign, not the two and not the outside zero.
“He’s just tightened my focus and tightened in my vision. So that’s made a big difference, just neutralizing the ball flight. I still hit the draw but now I feel like I’m getting access to a lot of back right pins, just being able to hit that hold off shot, which is a massive change.”
Paul Dunne made 25 birdies in four rounds, but too many mistakes led to a closing 72 and a share of 45th on 10-under, leaving him 188th in the Race to Dubai.
Meanwhile, Michael Hoey tied for 14th on 11-under in the Dimension Data Pro-Am, closing with a one-under 71 to finish eight shots behind Wilco Nienaber at Fancourt Golf Estate’s Montagu course.
The South African shot 65 and secured an emotional first professional win (and an exemption into the WGC – FedEx St. Jude Invitational) by overcoming Swede Henric Sturehed, who shot 66, with a par on the third playoff hole. Scores
