Confidence not an issue for Moriarty

COLM MORIARTY from Athlone, 26, was born to be a golf professional.

Blessed with obvious talent, a positive nature and a capacity to take the rough with the smooth, he hasn’t shirked the essential hard work or hasn’t allowed the loneliness of travelling all over the globe at considerable expense to undermine his intent, always believing that in the end it would be all worthwhile.

It was an ingredient that stood to Colm through an outstanding amateur career highlighted by wins in the South of Ireland at Lahinch in 2002 and the New South Wales Stroke Play Championships in ‘03 and ‘04, while he was also a member of the successful British and Irish Walker Cup team in 2003 and the Eisenhower Trophy side in 2002.

He boasted a handicap of plus 5 when turning pro at the end of 2003, when relatively generous sponsorship was at hand to help him on his way.

He is particularly grateful to Tom and Breda Reid of Glasson Golf & Country Club; the Cuisine de France Team Ireland Golf Trust; Red Bull; TaylorMade/Adidas, Hyundai and O2 for their support over the past three years.

He hasn’t been setting the golfing world alight, although there were very definite signs in 2005 that greater things lie just around the corner.

A share of 13th in the Nissan Irish Open was hugely encouraging, not least because his name appeared on the leaderboard consistently throughout the four days, and he also had his moments on the Challenge Tour before eventually finishing in 39th spot on the money list.

That means he must finish in the top thirty at San Roque if he is to move on to the next step. If self-belief means anything, that won’t be a problem.

“People describe it as the dreaded Tour School but, no, I don’t see it like that,” says Moriarty.

“Mind you, it’s a long week. If every tournament went on for six days, it would be very tough. But I’ve learned that it’s all about being patient. You could panic after nine holes in the first round if you were going badly but there’s no need for that. You just have to bear in mind that six solid rounds will do it. I missed by five last year when I put three balls out of bounds and three-putted six times. And that’s before everything else as well.

“I like to believe that the two courses at San Roque suit me. There were other Tour School venues like Pals and Emporda where you needed to shoot 15 under to get your card. Four or five over might be enough at San Roque. Looking back over the year, I was most pleased with the Irish Open. To justify the invite to play and be in contention almost to the finish told me I could succeed in this company.

“I dropped cheap shots in the second round, probably because of a lack of experience, and realistically it’s hard to get experience if you’re not playing regularly in these events. I didn’t fade away although a last day rain delay cost me momentum.

“I feel I’m now ready to play on tour. I’m learning to keep mistakes to a minimum and was pretty close to getting my card through the Challenge Tour on three or four occasions during the year. But I’m not all that happy at failing to take those chances. The thing is, I played my best in the Irish Open and even in my amateur career, I always tended to do best in the big events and so in many ways my pro career has been a mirror of my amateur career. Also, I have been setting my sights too low. Instead of aiming to win the Challenge Tour or at least making the top five, I was trying to get into the top twenty.”

Moriarty promises that won’t happen again and stressed: “My goal is to get on to the main tour and get into the world’s top 50 over the next five years.”