Irish Open Weaned on a staple diet of one- and two-round pro-ams, John Dwyer finally succumbed to the bloated feeling of a full-fledged, four-round contest at Co Louth. He conceded three shots to regulation figures over the final four holes as mental fatigue saw his concentration waver.at Baltray

"My putting stoke didn't feel the same over the last four holes as it did for the first 14," the Ashbourne professional admitted. "Put it down to a little inexperience and a little bit of mental fatigue."

At three under par within sight of the clubhouse, he eventually finished on level par for the Irish Open, a superb effort in itself. He won't browbeat himself about the finish, nor should he. This week has once again reinforced the belief he can compete at this level; indeed, he confirmed he will head to PQ1 later in the year in search of a European Tour card.

"I'm definitely going. I made my mind up once I made the cut this week. I had decided after the K Club, subject to this week going well. I'll be getting the entry form and filling it out over the next few weeks."

Dwyer qualified for the weekend at the recent European Open, as he has in the past, and, given an opportunity to test his game against the elite, generally he has demonstrated his mettle. In the last 12 months he has identified several aspects of the game that he needed to address.

"I made a lot of changes this year and it's beginning to pay dividends. I did three things. I went to the gym in the winter, and that added an extra 15 or 20 yards (to my shots). I was always 15 to 20 yards behind the guys when I came out to play in these things. Nobody was exceptionally long past me this week or in the K Club.

"I went over to Harold Swash, the putting guru, last April and got a lot out of that. And I started with Sean Farrell, a sports psychologist, and for the last four or five months, he's made a huge difference. That's really been the big thing to be honest. He's got my head focused on what I want to do and where I need to be for shots. I'd put 70 or 80 per cent (of my improvement) down to that."

This week provided concrete evidence of that hard work, even allowing for the finish. "I'm not in these circumstances often enough. I had a couple of three-putts coming in; just a little bit tentative, being honest. I hit some nice shots (but had) some weak putts.

"It's still a good finish and I'm getting more comfortable playing in these tournaments. I'm still learning, which is the most important thing, and still improving. Have to take everything from the whole week, move on and learn from it."

He conceded playing in the pro-ams of the Irish Region isn't ideal preparation for tour school, but added the rider: "Events like these just prove I can shoot steady scores over four rounds. I like to think I can do that at PQ level."

Gary Murphy tantalised the local support with four birdies in the first seven holes, but bogeys on nine and 10 and regulation figures on the back nine saw him finish on three under.

"I got it going early on but haven't putted well enough all week," he said. "I think I've had six three-putts, which is not good. I three-putted eight and nine, which kind of took the wind out of my sails. I tried to give myself chances on the back nine and did, but just didn't convert any."

Peter Lawrie finished a shot further back following a 71. His synopsis of the week? "I struck the ball nicely off the tee but didn't really control my iron shots well enough for some of the pin placements on Saturday and today."

Damien McGrane (72) and David Higgins (74) finished the tournament on one under par, with McGrane's exquisite bunker shot from a very difficult lie on the 18th a heartening way to finish. He admitted: "It was very difficult to find birdies out there. No matter how good a shot you hit into a green, sometimes it releases, sometimes it spins.

"I'm happy enough with the week. I didn't hit my irons very well at all. My short game kept me there or there abouts. I'm glad it's over, it's been an exhausting week."

McGrane, Lawrie and Murphy all head for Sweden next week, each satisfied this tournament can prove a stepping stone to even better fortune.