Eye on the prize

Portmarnock gives Irish pros like Damien McGrane the opportunity to test their progress against the European Tour big-hitters — and get their hands on some welcome loot. The Wexford man spoke to Declan Colley.

TAKING €2,750 home after a couple of days work might seem appealing to many people, but for a professional golfer with serious ambitions to crack the professional ranks, it is not likely to propel anyone into the rarified atmosphere of the big money-makers.

But for Damien McGrane, the Wexford-based professional, taking a couple of grand away from the recent Phillip Walton Pro-Am at Dundrum House in Co Tipperary, was not a bad couple of days work.