Barry has his eyes on the prize after hectic year

Royal Tara Golf Club Assistant Stephen Barry says he is fully focused on his game after tying the knot last year.

The Co Meath player is preparing to tee off in the PGA Assistants’ Championship Final.

It was an event where he was one of the early pacesetters after the first round last year at Nottinghamshire’s Coxmoor Golf Club.

But he fell away and had to be satisfied with a 31st place finish overall.

Now the second year Assistant is preparing to return to the £32,000 Birdietime-supported final which will be played at Farleigh Golf Club in Surrey between July 3-5.

And he says he is a more settled player this time around.

“I’m playing more this year and finished joint second in the Irish Assistants’ Championship at Nuremore Golf Club so I’ve got a bit of momentum going this time,” explained 26-year-old Barry.

“I was leading after two round and slipped away.

‘I was also leading after the first round of the PGA Assistants’ final last year then kind of fell away again, I hope I can improve on that this time.  But I did just wing it to be fair!

“But I wasn’t playing that much 12 months ago. I was busy between my training and got married in September - golf was just a bit of fun last year. There were a lot of things to think about. I was running around doing all sorts.

“This year, I’ve been able to put more time and effort into my game and I’m seeing a big improvement. Just being able to give it more time has produced results.”

This is Barry’s second stint as a PGA Assistant after his first spell did not work out.

But he decided to try again and is glad he did.

“I was registered six years ago, with a different club, I was just out of school and didn’t take the commitment side of it well, I fell out of it - it wasn’t the right time,” he explained.

“I went back to doing bar work, which I was doing before, and I did it for a couple of years.

“Then I decided I’d had enough of that, I got back into golf. And luckily I got in touch with John Byrne, the PGA professional at Royal Tara, who I knew anyway. He took me on as an Assistant and things have gone well since.”

Other players from Ireland due to play at Farleigh include: Richard Weldon (Black Bush);   Tara Delaney (Carlow Golf Club);  Jamie Dreelan  (Rosslare Golf Club);   Liam Whelan (Craddockstown Golf Club);  Craig Melvin (Corrstown Golf Club);   Paul O’Neill (Shannon Golf Club); and Damien Scott (Farnham Estate Golf Club)