McDowell already playing down hype

WHILE there was understandable surprise that Graeme McDowell should have emerged victorious in only his fourth appearance on the European Tour on Sunday, those who have followed his progress in the amateur ranks both here in Ireland and on the collegiate circuit in the United States were confident he was destined for great things in the game of golf.

His victory in the Scandinavian Masters at the weekend was fully deserved because of the commendable manner in which he consistently hit back from dropped shots to register birdies at the very next hole. And the manner in which he kept his head while many around him were losing theirs made it a very special performance indeed.

McDowell, who turned 23 just two days before the start of the Scandinavian Masters, is a likeable young man who would never dream of gloating. Still, it clearly hadn't skipped his attention that his 2001 Walker Cup team-mates Nick Dougherty and Luke Donald were regarded all along as the golden-haired boys among the British media who saw them as the logical successors to Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam and the rest.