A REALISTIC yet delighted Michael Curry insists he is not about to raise his expectations after being crowned Durham County champion in emphatic style.

Curry, unaware of his chances of success until walking onto the 17th green, finished top of the leaderboard at Brancepeth Castle by seven shots on Sunday to fend off nearest challenger Ricky Lee from Tyneside.

It was the 23-year-old's first major individual honour and believes the achievement has given him the confidence to become an even better golfer.

But Curry, sporting outrageous pink trousers on the final day's play, has no intentions of taking the game too seriously and is keen to keep enjoying life on the fairways.

"I always wanted to turn professional as a youngster," said Curry, whose last of three club championship triumphs came in 2003, the year he claimed the Inter County Foursomes.

"But I was quick to realise that I wasn't good enough. That's not being too negative but that's how I felt. What becoming county champion has done though has given me a lot more confidence - we will just see what happens.

"It's been a great boost. My form and game have dipped over the past couple of years and I lost interest, but I'm enjoying it again and this is fantastic."

As a greenkeeper at Brancepeth, the scratch golfer was perfectly placed to attack the pins over the weekend and it was clearly a ploy that worked to his advantage.

Curry admits his day-to-day job helped his cause in his bid to take the trophy from reigning champion Hugh Hamilton and was looking forward to reliving his heroics over the next few days.

"I'll be replacing a few of the divots I made during my rounds myself no doubt," said Curry. "It obviously helped me a lot to know the course so well."

And Curry added: "I had no idea that I had such a strong lead. I found out on the 17th and even then it didn't really sink in. It didn't affect me. I'm just relieved to have held on."

Matfen Hall's John Harrison, coach of European Tour player Kenneth Ferrie, has been working with Curry over the past few years and it the hard work that paid dividends on Sunday.

He moved into the joint lead with Lee and Hamilton after a third round 69 and never looked back - on a day that became a family affair.

"I felt quite happy and seeing my mother (Kathleen) on the 11th gave me the encouragement I was looking for," said Curry, whose father, Geoff, and brother, Jonny, were also in support.

"She hadn't set foot on a golf course before and it was nice to see her. My coaching sessions with John obviously also helped. He is a great coach and he has worked a lot on my swing."

While Curry became 2005 champion, last year's winner did not disappear without a trace.

Seaton Carew's Hamilton shot a scintillating 64 in his second round on Saturday, equalling Gary Boardman's course record.

Hamilton will be going for glory in Saturday's Seaton Salver when it will be back to a full field with half the 63 entrants on one handicap or better.

Nine players are on plus one and include international Roger Roper as well as a full complement of local stars. Other past winners competing are Mark Ridley (Consett) and Tony McLure (Whickham). James Harper of Seaton,is the lowest handicap in the field, playing off plus two.

Published: 24/05/2005