Declan hits his stride in Holland to take Dutch Open pitch and putt title
Listowel man clinches international title following nail-biting contest over 54 holes
2010 All-Ireland Intermediate Pitch and Putt winner Declan McCarron has only gone and taken gold in his second-ever international event in an incredible achievement to go down in the annals of the game in Kerry as a great highlight.
After coming 14th in a world championship in Norway two months ago Declan set his sights on Holland. So it came to pass he found himself battling the cream of the European crop in Koudum - an hour north of Amsterdam - over 54 gruelling holes on Saturday and Sunday.
But he didn’t waver for a moment, staying right in the zone to even sink birdies back-to-back in the final four holes of the event with Europe’s top player breathing down his neck a shot behind.
“I’m fairly burnt out now but it was fantastic,” Declan told The Kerryman from home in Listowel on Tuesday after jetting back late on Monday night.
“It was my second international and something I had wanted to do since finishing 14th in Norway two months ago. I suppose there’s two sides to the game really, competition and enjoyment and I’ve been exploring the competitive side more and more since getting back into the game after a three-year break a few years ago.”
Soccer was Declan’s first big game, but while he enjoyed it a great deal he found himself spending more and more time on the Listowel course by his mid-teens - emulating his older brother Kevin, the other great national pitch and putt champ in the family.
“I suppose I kind of took to it like a duck to water really, I just loved the game.” Success followed success, including the 2010 All-Ireland and as recently as this year, the Kerry senior stroke play.
The Dutch course exceeded his expectations. “The course was very, very hard but probably one of the best and most beautiful courses I’ve ever played on.” Friday’s practice run with ordinary local members in a pro-am style event saw Declan growing more and more comfortable with the holes.
“As the round went on I started getting better and better and by the start of the competition on Saturday I knew I was fully ready.”
He launched himself into it, giving ‘120 per cent’ to finish the first 36 holes on Saturday three shots in the lead. He went out with his closest rival - a Dutch player considered Europe’s top talent - for the final 18 on Sunday.
“He got me down to a shot with seven to go when I hit the only bogie I had of the three rounds in the Open. But I birdied the 15th and 16th and sank a fifteen foot putt for par on the 17th to eventually win by just a shot.”
What’s the secret to success when the chips are down like that?
“I have the experience of playing in competition in front of crowds and know that you can’t let anything distract you. You have to stay completely in the moment within yourself and remain grounded throughout.”
That’s the same frame of mind he is going to bring to his next big international, a pairs event in Catalonia, Spain, he hopes to contest in October.