The trajectory of Daithi Sexton's Pitch and Putt career continues to advance upwards. He is now the European Strokeplay champion and kindly supplied this post championship reaction to fippa.org.

 

When did you travel to France - Myself and my wife (Ailish) travelled to France on the Tuesday evening (the 15th) before the championships.

 

Had you seen the La Rochelle Sud course before? - No, we arrived at the course on the Wednesday morning, we had two practice rounds planned, we had booked a practice round for the red course at 10.30am and another practice round for the yellow course was booked for 3pm .

 

What were your first impressions of it? - As we arrived, we were greeted by Mathieu and his team, the welcome we received was amazing, we first saw the clubhouse and the seating area for the restaurant which gave us the impression that the facility was top class, then we proceeded to the course for some practice and straight away I was very impressed with the condition of the greens and the surrounds of the greens, the greens rolled true which I believed would make for a top-class championship,

 

Did you play in any of the pre-championship's events? - Unfortunately not as I had emailed La Rochelle Sud to enter but my mail was not received in time, So I built my practice around the events, and I made it work for me.

 

Bogey-free and 15 birdies. Saturday couldn't have gone much better - I agree, I was out in the afternoon session which meant the wind might have been a factor, but I felt my pitching was in good condition going into this event so I was very positive heading out for the first two rounds. My mental approach was really good over the weekend and I played to a plan which I stuck to in all rounds, I managed to land on all 36 greens on the Saturday and my putting in terms of pace was really good so it allowed me to play within myself.

 

Were the playing conditions any different on Sunday?   - Yes, the pin positions on Sunday made the final round more difficult, combined with the slopes on the greens.. It made all the players think twice on certain shots as one error could have been critical to the overall result. The speed of the greens was also a factor on Sunday but overall, the greens were probably amongst the best surfaces I played on all year. 

 

Did your tactics change when JR went ahead? -  No, I had my own plan and I worked hard to stick to it, but I must say that the first 8 holes on Sunday that JR played were top class, JR was 4 under after 8 holes and the mix of shots that he played during that time was great to see, His putt on the 5th hole across the break was impressive but his punch shot on the 6th hole to a pin tucked away on the left side bank of the green was also great and then his tricky chip shot on the 8th hole for another birdie shows the level of brilliance and the great array of shots JR has. But for me, I could not change my plan as I believe I cannot affect anyone else on the course only myself and my results, So I can only follow my plan and if someone has a great day and beats me then all I can do it shake their hand an continue to practice and improve my game. But I will say that JR played very well and only a bounce of a ball was the difference between us as potentially one bounce to the left, and you are in trouble and similarly one bounce to the right and you have a birdie.

 

Were you aware that Frank Dineen was charging? - Yes. I was not surprised as Frank is a really good putter and I knew these greens would suit him. Frank is capable of doing this as are most of the players in the field. We play in a tough circuit in Ireland, week after week, and multiple players seem to make a charge in the final holes so yes I was aware but again I did not react to the charge as I believed I could only affect myself and I could not affect what Frank was doing. But well done to Frank on winning the over-55's championship.

 

Tell us about your superb tee shot in the sudden death playoff -  I lost the toss and Alexandre hit a super shot to 20 feet below the hole. This was the one time all weekend that I changed my strategy and played to attack the hole as I believed that Alexandre would not make any mistakes. I believed that I would have to win it and not expect Alexandre to make an error. The tee shot was 85 metres to the flag and playing downhill. So I estimated and took 4 metres off the distance and I tried to hit an 81 metre shot directly at the pin, I used my 60 degree wedge which I play with in Ireland and it allowed me to swing freely knowing that I cannot clear the green. I probably hit the best shot I have ever hit in my life to a pin that was on a tough slope so I was very happy when it landed to 3 feet. The putt was not easy as the slope was severe but I managed to stay calm and rely on my routine to slot the put in for the win, I was over the moon with the result. The support I received from the travelling Irish players (my wife included) and supporters was immense. I can also say that the support from the Netherlands / France / Catalonia / Galicia/ Norway and Germany players on the day was well-received and appreciated.

 

A few words about Alexandre Decorde? -  I only got to play the sudden death tie hole with Alexandre but I knew before I saw him hit his tee shot that he was a world-class player, Alexandre shot 4 under par in the final round so I knew he would not make any mistakes in the play-off and if I was to win then I had to attack and hopefully get a birdie as a par would not win it for me. Alexandre's pitch shot was really good and it forced me to attack but I watched his putting stroke in the play-off hole and I knew that he was a really strong putter, so I believed I had one chance to win and, lucky for me, it happened that way.

 

I would like to thank my family Ailish, Ryan, Maria and Willow for the support I have received over the years, I have missed many family functions due to practice and competitions but to claim the European title makes it all worthwhile.