McHenry steels himself for a second coming

FORMER Walker Cup star and European Tour regular John McHenry is all set to make his return to the big time having spent four years in virtual retirement.

McHenry is now heading up the new practice facility and forthcoming academy at The K-Club and, having demonstrated that his golf game is probably as good as ever, is about to receive invitations to compete in the forthcoming Smurfit European Open over his home course on July 3-6 and in the Nissan Irish Open at Portmarnock on July 23-27.

Cork-born McHenry is now in his 40th year and will be remembered as an amateur good enough to capture the Irish Close and South of Ireland Championships and a number of other major titles along with playing in the 1987 Walker Cup when his teammates included Colin Montgomerie. He turned professional later that year and enjoyed a degree of success on the European Tour without ever quite making the anticipated break through.

He was unfortunate in the way of injuries but there were many good days, most notably the 1998 Murphys Irish Open at Druids Glen. He had hardly earned a penny prior to then but strung together four admirable rounds to tie for third and more or less retain his playing rights on the strength of that performance alone.

“But I lost my card in 1999, Jack and Alex had arrived by then, and my priorities changed,” he reflected last night. “I decided to take time out from the game and broadened my horizons a little but all the time I knew I was keen to get back. The position at The K-Club was advertised and I applied and got it. That was twelve months ago and I am enjoying my brief which is to develop the practice facilities and lay the foundations for the new academy which should be up and running by September.”

Although a well established touring professional for more than a decade, John still has to qualify as a club professional and recently completed his first year’s examinations. All going well, he will be the finished article in a year’s time. Meanwhile, he makes full use of whatever opportunities arise to play and practice and it was during the winter that K-Club member and businessman Dermot Desmond realised that McHenry still possessed a special talent for the game.

“Dermot asked me if I would be interested in working on my game at Sandy Lane in Barbados of which he is a part owner and my wife, Sylvia, and myself jumped at the opportunity,” he says. “It so happened that Paul McGinley and Pádraig Harrington were there at the same time and we had a few fourballs during which I was able to measure my game against two of Europe’s best. I thought they would be hitting it forty or fifty yards past me, but that wasn’t the case. I was fearful of not having the nerve for the short game, but that wasn’t the case either.”

In truth, a little bird tells me that McHenry was right up there with the two Ryder Cup heroes off the tee and in just about every other department. He and Dermot Desmond relieved Harrington and McGinley of a few euro and indeed Dermot was so impressed that he played a major part in arranging for the invitations to the European and Irish Opens for his delighted partner.

“I’m not deluding myself and I’m not saying I will set the world on fire but I’m still competitive and fit and very excited at the challenge,” insists McHenry. I am planning to take in the Quinn Direct pro-am at Slieve Russell in a couple of weeks time and three or four other pro-ams before the European Open.