Thornton hits his customary late season stride to triumph at Mount Temple

Simon Thornton admits he usually saves his best golf for later in the season and that proved to be the case as he won the PGA Irish Club Professional Tournament.

The Tulfarris Golf Resort professional rounded off a good month with victory at Mount Temple Golf Club in Co Westmeath.

He finished top of the leaderboard with a six under par round of 66, which took him two shots clear of his nearest rival Michael McDermott, of Grange Golf Club.

It was a victory that came just days after winning the EuroPro Tour Northern Ireland Masters event at Clandeboye Golf Club.

“August was a good month for me,” admitted Thornton, whose triumph at Mount Temple owed much to an eagle at the ‘risk and reward’ par four ninth hole.

“This was the second time I’d won this tournament. But I’d played the Pro-Am event the day before and noticed the greens were very undulating.

“You had to hit them in the right places all the time, I noted this in the memory banks and was able to plot myself around the course.

“I got a boost at the ninth, and bogeyed the next, but I played a solid back nine and came home nicely.”

Thornton was able to add those wins to two pro-am victories - and says the pattern of way the year is panning is a familiar one to him.

“I’m generally a bit of a slow starter,” he said.

“This year has been the same. I wasn’t getting going at all earlier in the year.

“I made a couple of swing changes, and it’s come to fruition at the end of the season, which is how it normally works out.”

He also said the Covid lockdowns did not help his game.

“I’m not one for practicing too hard,” he said.

“My practice tends to come on the golf course, but there was a lack of playing opportunities last year. I was short on match practice this year, but once I got going I’ve found the last four weeks have been pretty kind to me.”

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