Liam O'Donovan - A win in Galicia and Irish champion again

Liam O'Donovan, Ireland

It's been quite a year so far for Shannon Aerospace employee Liam O'Donovan. He won the Galician Open on the international circuit and was crowned Irish Strokeplay champion not long afterwards. Liam O'Donovan identified a few key components in his Tambre success for fippa.net.

"Having played there last year I knew the course fairly well. I am teeing the ball better than I have in a good couple of years. I got off to a very good start and kept it going from there."

Liam O'Donovan's protracted run of accomplishments on Pitch and Putt courses across 2 decades didn't just happen. He practises...a lot. "Yes, I play a round most nights from April to August."

Liam sees many attractions in Irish Pitch and Putt. "It's a very social game. You meet a lot of people when playing it and get to play with different people in every competition you go to. When you're in contention, seeing the players you're in contention with creates a great atmosphere."

International Pitch and Putt has some further allures. "I like getting to meet people from other countries and experience how they view Pitch and Putt," enthuses Liam. "I also like the shot gun start which means the timing of the competitions runs well."

Just a few weeks after the Galician Open, Liam O'Donovan clinched his second Irish Strokeplay title with an outstanding recovery chip after pitching a long way through the green on the final hole. We asked him to tell us about that chip at Stackallen. "Well! After what was a poor pitch I knew I was one ahead so the first thing was to take a 5 out of the equation," recalls Liam. "Because the bank at the back of that green is so steep, I knew that if I ran the ball into it would have stopped, so I aimed 2 feet left of the flag and tried to get the ball to bounce before the slope with enough speed to run up and luckily it worked out."

That 2nd win obviously means a lot. "I suppose it affirms to me than I am still good enough to win at a high level and it puts me in a rare group of people who have been and some who still are the greats of our game."

Liam has two wonderful comrades as he traverses Ireland and Europe on the Pitch and Putt circuits - Kieran Earls and Pacelli Darcy. He extols the qualities of one young and one not so young, but both top class exponents.

"Kieran has the qualities to win a lot. His results in Strokeplay have been very good the last couple of years. He just needs that one little break to win one."
"Pacelli has been a top class player for the last 30 years and this year moved into the senior (over 55) ranks. He does a lot of work for the clubs in Limerick and is a great support to me. Hopefully he will go well in the senior this year. (No pressure!)"

EPPA or PPUI distances? "A bit of both. I like holes from 45m to 80m."

Liam's travels to international competitions will continue this year. "I will play the doubles (the international pairs at Lloret) with Pacelli in October." And into 2015 - "If I can get the time off from work I will you play in the European Strokeplay."

When considering what can be done to promote Pitch and Putt, Liam offers these suggestions, "We have to keep working on getting sponsors, engaging with them to establish how they see our game and I think in Ireland we need to overhaul our handicap systems."

Liam speaks very highly of the role his parents have performed during his career and it hasn't prevented them from playing themselves."They're very supportive and travel everywhere to support me," is Liam's tribute "and they don't play too bad themselves!"

There are two unfulfilled Pitch and Putt ambitions for Liam O'Donovan. "No. 1 is to win an (All Ireland) Inter-county. No. 2 is to win the (Irish) Matchplay."

And the genial Limerick man is characteristically pragmatic. "Both tall orders!" is his laconic parting shot.