Brendan aiming for big feats

DUNDALK Golf Club’s Brendan Lawlor added another major title to his CV when he won the Czech Masters by seven shots on the European Disabled Golf Association Tour on Sunday.

Lawlor, (inset) who had already won in Portugal and France earlier in the year, opened up with a two under-par 70 at Mstêtice Golf Club in Prague. His first round included four birdies and an impressive hole in one at the par three eighth.

That left him five shots clear heading into the second and final round and he rolled in another four birdies on his way to a 75 which was enough to see him take the title by seven shots from Sweden’s Joakim Bjorkman.

Lawlor, who is 21, suffers from Ellis-van Crevels Syndrome, a bone growth disorder that leads to shorter limbs.

He currently plays off a two handicap and is a member of Dundalk’s Senior Panel which has qualified for the Leinster quarter-finals in both the AIG Senior Cup and Barton Shield.

At 4’11” he’s the shortest man in every field but has never felt inhibited by his condition.

“I don’t see it as a disability in any way,” said Lawlor, who won the Troia Trophy by 10 shots in Portugal last February. “If I was giving advice to anyone like myself or anyone with a disability: ’Just be yourself and try find a game you’re comfortable with.’”

Lawlor played pitch and putt from a young age and went on to win All Ireland titles at Under-16 and Senior level before taking up golf as a teenager. He started out at Ardee and is now good enough to beat most able-bodied golfers.

“I want to reach number one in my field,” he said earlier this year. “That’s my major goal.”

Asked what advice he’d give to others with a similar disability, he said: “Be yourself. Act normal because you are normal. You may look different but you still have the same emotions and you’re still living your life the same.”