Higgins blows away rivals at Carton House

David Higgins produced a dominant display at Carton House to take the Titleist & FootJoy PGA Professional Championship Irish qualifying event and give himself a chance of realising his PGA Cup ambitions.

The former European Tour professional carded an impressive nine under par round of 63 at the Co Kildare venue to win by an impressive five shots ahead of Clontarf Golf Club’s Eamonn Brady.

Higgins, of Co Kerry’s Waterville Golf Links, made five birdies on the front nine holes - with three in successive holes - to book a return to the £78,000 showpiece final being held The Oxfordshire course from July 26-29.

And he put his scintillating form at The Montgomerie course down to the fact that he had been playing in two high profile events leading up to the qualifier.

“I’ve played in the Irish Open at The K Club and at Wentworth this month, they’re very testing courses,” said Higgins.

“I’m not saying Carton House was not as hard, or easier, it was in great condition as usual, but there were less distractions and I could be a little more relaxed.

“My game was at a good level and that’s one of the reasons I played like that. It wasn’t perfect, there were a few loose shots but I managed to recover. Overall I was delighted with the round and when you get birdies so early in the round you know you’re going to have a good day.”

Higgins made the final last year at Burnham & Berrow and was hoping to qualify for the Great Britain & Ireland PGA Cup team but he had to settle for a top 25 finish after a disappointing final round.

“I was in contention but then shot something like six or seven over par, I was very disappointed and it left a sour taste, things could’ve been much better, ” explained Higgins who comes from a well-known family of golfers.

“But I’m still aiming to get on to the PGA Cup team, I qualified once before but couldn’t take up my place.

“So I’m as determined to get there for the next event as I was last year. It’ll be good to try and do well again at The Oxfordshire and take a step to perhaps getting into the squad.”