‘Exhausted’ Murray realises South dream

Pat Murray’s perseverance was finally rewarded when after 20 years of trying, he finally won the South of Ireland at Lahinch yesterday, defeating Stephen Healy from Claremorris by two holes in the final.

Winning the Irish Close championship, which Murray did in 2009, would normally be the pinnacle of any Irish amateur’s career but that was not the case with Murray.

After all, the Limerick Golf Club secretary/manager had contested seven semi-finals before yesterday and never reached the actual decider, losing at ties holes to people like Jody Fanagan, Ken Kearney and Darren Crowe. So when he came up against Eugene Smith of Ardee at the penultimate stage yesterday morning, he wasn’t sure what to expect and admitted he was under more pressure than in the final.