 |
| Getty Images |
Stephen Grant continues to progress in his career, having switched the football field for the fairways, after a lower back problem first prompted him to hang up his football boots at Shamrock Rovers.
A final round of 67 in St Augustine, Florida last week at St. Johns Golf & Country Club ensured further action at the PGA Tour Qualifying School. His fifteenth place sufficient for a place at Stage 2 in mid November.
A trip he will make after European Tour School Qualifying Stage 2 as he is scheduled to tee-off at Las Colinas on November 2nd along side Niall Kearney, Brenda McCarroll, Ruairdhri McGee, Damian Mooney and David Rawluk.
Before his premature retirement in 2004, Grant enjoyed a productive playing career as a striker in Ireland and England. A career was bookended with two spells at Shamrock Rovers where, after scoring on his debut against Bohemians in 1996, he returned five years later to end his playing days as the club’s leading scorer in the 2003/2004 season.
Grant recalls those times; “I had ten good years as a footballer, and enjoyed every one of them. The thing I miss most is probably the training, because it’s a lot of fun. It’s also handy having ten other players on the team to bail you out if you’re having a bad day!
“Whereas golf is obviously an individual sport, so it’s down to you and you only. Plus there’s a bit less camaraderie and you also spend a lot longer practising, so it can be quite a lonely experience at times. But I’ve no regrets, because I’m really enjoying testing myself out here.”
As a latecomer to the game Grant is understandably keen to make up for lost time.
“I was completely out of my depth when I turned pro only three years after touching a golf club for the first time. So I got some experience on the EPD Tour, played pretty well and was up near the top of the Order of Merit for most of the season. Then I travelled over to the States and spent a season on the Hooters Tour, which was another great learning experience for me.
“I think I probably jumped into the game too quickly, and expected too much of myself. Now that I’ve got a lot more experience to draw on, it should hopefully stand me in good stead this season and going forward.
“After I turned pro I was probably only making about 30 per cent of cuts. But over the last two or three years I think I’ve only missed three cuts in more than 50 events. So even though I haven’t managed to win a tournament yet, I’ve improved my consistency massively. I just want to keep playing and keep improving, and hopefully within the next couple of years I’ll make it onto The European Tour.”
During his football career Grant played for Athlone Town, Sunderland, Shamrock Rovers(two stints 154 competitive appearances), Stockport County, Burnley, Finn Harps, Waterford United, Boston Bulldogs, Galway United and Shelbourne.
After playing for Athlone and Sunderland reserves his first taste of senior football came when Pat Byrne signed him for Rovers in October 1996. He became an instant hero by scoring on his League of Ireland debut against rivals Bohemians. After 4 goals in 22 appearances he signed for Stockport for £10,000 in 1997.
Grant returned to Rovers in the summer of 2001 and wrote himself into the history books by becoming the first Irish player to score against a Polish side in a European competition when Rovers beat Odra Wodzisław in the UEFA Intertoto Cup in June 2003. In all he made 6 appearances in Europe for Rovers.
As a Republic of Ireland Under -21 he scored 1 goal in 4 appearances during the Madeira Cup trophy victory in February 2006.
These days though it is all about and this season Grant has been based in Florida and is playing on the NGA Tour, formerly the Hooters Tour, and his best finish was in March where he was T14 at the Milton Martin Honda Classic at Chattahoochee Golf Club.
On the Challenge Tour this season he has played only a third of the events compared to last year, and missed all three cuts.
FactFile
Height: 6'1".
DoB: Apr/14/1977.
Turned Pro: 2009.
Birth Place: Ireland.
Residence: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
No comments:
Post a Comment