David Sexton - developing a taste for International Pitch and Putt
David Sexton is the reigning Cork Strokeplay champion and has achieved much in domestic Pitch and Putt. David has been an infrequent competitor beyond Irish shores but he found HCP1 in Catalonia to his liking.
How pleased were you to contend at the Catalan Open ?
It was an event that I was looking forward to for a while, I really like the long shots in Pitch & Putt due to my experience in golf so I believed that the course and distances would suit my game, I had never played the HCP1 course before but we arrived on the Thursday before the competition started for a practice and I immediately took a liking to the course. I felt then that with a bit of luck that I would contending as I played the practice rounds really well,
You haven’t played too many international events.. What was the motivation to travel this year?
My wife Ailish also plays the game and had previously travelled over to play in Catalan Open in Portal Del Roc and she really enjoyed the experience. Ailish managed to convince me to enjoy a little holiday while playing the game we both enjoy, I had also played in the European championships in Dagenham, London where I finished 7th so I knew I had the game for it.
What is the main difference between an Irish Pitch & Putt course and a Catalan Pitch and Putt Course ?
The main differences would be the length of the shots from tee to green and the size of the greens, In Ireland you would see a lot of tee shots with a distance between 30 metres to 65 metres on average and the greens would be smaller in size as well so good pitching in Ireland is important, In Spain .. I have seen less tee shots under 55 metres and more tee shots averaging from 60 meters to 90 metres, so good putting is important, also in Spain you are likely to have some trees in play which doesn’t happen too often in Ireland.
Can you identify any particular turning point that enabled Oriol Mas to win at HCP1 ?
Yes… the 15th hole in the in the final round (Hole 50 in the championship), Myself and Oriol were tied on 15 under par at the time, both of us came up short on the 15th by about 2 meters, the pin was 4 meters on and it was on a slight down slope and Oriol played a super chip shot that guaranteed his par, I putted my shot and the putt lipped out and unfortunately I missed the putt back, this gave Oriol a one shot lead heading to the 16th which was index 1, I managed a par there but once again Oriol sank a putt from the back of the green which again was a super putt, To execute the chip on 15th and the tough putt on 16th when the tournament was on the line was the difference between first and second in my view, Both of us birded the 17th but Oriol showed his class with a pitch on the last to a few feet to close out the tournament, well done to him and I am already looking forward to the next time we meet.
What aspects of your performance at the Catalan Open pleased you ?
My pitching was really good all weekend, I managed to pitch 32 of the 36 greens on the Saturday and I believe I hit 14 of the 18 greens on the Sunday so I was really pleased with that, But the biggest positive for me was the mental side of my game, I had a plan and in the final round I played really well under pressure which is great to be able to do it.
Were you less than satisfied with any aspect of your game
Yes, I felt I left 2 to 3 shots per round out there because my putting was not up to the standard it needed to be, the greens in Spain are bigger than the greens in Ireland and this is one aspect of my game that I will work on to improve.
What other international events do you plan to play this year?
I stated earlier that my wife also plays so I am really looking forward to teaming up with her for the Catalan International Pairs in Sant Cebria in October, it’s a great game but it’s a bonus that both of us are interested in Pitch and Putt so is also a short holiday for us.
Any other comments – Yes, I would like to thank all the Irish players and supporters that supported me throughout the weekend, It felt like I had great support in the final round and as the round went into the final 9 holes the crowd increased with some of the Dutch supporters adding to the Irish contingent which was exciting, I even had some local Spanish support which was great, To the Irish that followed me for the whole of the final round I want to say thank you.. it was much appreciated.
I also want to say that the course at HCP1 was in immaculate condition, and it was a pleasure to play there, Thanks to everyone involved and I am looking forward to the next event.
