Niall Kearney might not be a prodigy in the mould of a Seve Ballesteros, a Bernhard Langer, or a Shane Lowry but the Royal Dublin man hopes to continue his slow burn for the top in this week’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Mount Juliet.
At 33, the Raheny man has been battling to make the grade for the past 12 years, but after 21 visits to the qualifying school – 11 in Europe and 10 in Asia – the 6’3” gentle giant is quietly closing in on his dream of becoming a fully fledged European Tour star.
He proved last month’s career-best tie for fourth in the Canary Islands Open was no flash in the pan when he led last week’s BMW International Open at halfway, eventually finishing 11th behind the budding Norwegian superstar, Viktor Hovland.
It was another small step on the road towards securing his dream, and he believes he’s finally achieving full maturity as a golfer.
“I feel good, and the body is good and fit,” said the Dubliner as he drove with his father Joe, his caddie these days, from Dublin Airport straight into the European Tour bubble at Mount Juliet on arrival from Munich on Sunday.
“Obviously, it is different for everybody, but I feel comfortable out there now, and I feel as though I am competing.
“This year, especially the last couple of weeks, I have been there or thereabouts, which is obviously very positive. It gives me an indication that my game is not far off.”
A Walker Cup stalwart alongside Tommy Fleetwood at Merion in 2009, where Rickie Fowler was the big US star, he won back-to-back Irish PGA titles and nervelessly made the winning putt as Great Britain and Ireland claimed the PGA Cup on US soil for the first time in 2015.
Outwardly laid-back, he admits he still feels as nervous as he did playing for Ireland as a teenager. But he also believes he has nothing to envy the great stars on tour bar their consistency and is slowly gaining enough confidence to believe he can follow in the footsteps of pal Jonny Caldwell and win on the European Tour. “Of course, it’s inspiring,” he says. “I’ve played a lot of golf with Jonny. He’s a serious, serious player.”
As for the skills required to go that extra mile and win, he knows he will have more chances to win if he improves on the consistency he has attained through coach Eddie Doyle.
“Everyone hits it well, but it’s not true to say everybody is at the same level,” he explains. “On their day, everyone out there is fabulous to watch, and everybody tends to hit the same shots.”
“There are no shots you see that make you say, ‘Jaysus, there’s no way I’d be able to hit that shot.’ It’s just that the better guys just hit them a bit more often.”
Set to join Major winners Rory McIlroy, Pádraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and Lowry as part of a 16-strong Irish contingent at Mount Juliet this week, he’s thrilled to have received an invitation, knowing he must take advantage of every start as he bids to make his job more secure.
“It’s great to get a start in the Irish Open because it’s quite a big tournament relative to everything else,” he says. “It was key for me to get in – a big tournament for me with €3 million in the purse as opposed to €1 million or €1.5 million.
“I never know when I am going to get a start, so it’s vitally important I take advantage of every chance.”
As a Royal Dublin man (left), he feels a shiver of pride every time he sees his name on the Honorary Members’ list alongside Irish Open champions Ballesteros, Langer and Lowry.
“There’s nothing better and more satisfying than seeing the hard work pay off,” he admits. “Just being up there competing, feeling I am there or thereabouts even on an average week, that’s a nice feeling. Maybe having 10 or 15 years of experience is starting to come to fruition for me now, finally.”