West of Ireland Open joy for Berkhamsted Trophy champion
Spring has certainly sprung for James Claridge as the Staffordshire ace collected his second major honour in a matter of weeks.
FORMAT: 54-holes stroke play qualifier/ 4 rounds of matchplay
Hot on the heels of his impressive three-shot win in the Berkhamsted Trophy, the Enville player embraced the often wet and wild conditions at County Sligo to claim the West of Ireland Open last night.
After winning the 54-hole stroke play qualifier – that meant he won the inaugural Pat Ruddy Cup – Claridge played some great stuff on the way to final with local favourite Barry Anderson.
But then he raised his game even further, going bogey free in awful conditions and he was two under par after 13 holes as he saw off the Irish player 6&5. He also joins an illustrious list. Former winners include Padraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry.
Understandably the 2022 Walton Heath Trophy winner was delighted to add his name to the trophy.
“It’s pretty cool isn’t it,” he told Ireland Golf. “You don’t really think about it when you’re playing, you’re just out here trying to get the job done but it means a lot to be in company with people like that,”
Once again his short game – and especially his putting – made a huge difference with his change to the aim point method, which worked so well at Berkhamsted, coming to the fore.
“My short game was so hot it was on a heater,” quipped Claridge. “Just like at Berkhamsted, it was the 6-8 footers that were dropping.”
The England Men’s squad member also had to hold his nerve in the morning. In his semi-final with Ireland’s Marc Boucher, he lost the first and was never ahead until he won the second extra hole.
However it was a different story after lunch as he took the first with a par and got some early momentum by again getting up and down at the second for another four.
A par was again enough to win the third and he was rewarded with a bold approach at the treacherous seventh, clearing the ditch in front of the green to set up a hole-winning par which took him four ahead.
That became 5up on 11 and and another par at the next extended his advantage.
On the par three 13th both players left themselves 30-foot birdie chances and when Claridge got down in two, Anderson needed to hole out but the ball failed to drop.
In the stroke play qualifier, Claridge finished two ahead of Ireland’s Jake Whelan. That included a second-round, bogey-free 69 with the Englishman hitting the first 13 greens in regulation.
The day after the field tackled County Sligo in conditions described by the champion as “the worst I have ever played golf in.”
However the soon-to-be champion coaxed his ball around in 73 shots while Whelan moved into second on the back of a remarkable 70 (-1).