Italian job puts McDowell in Ryder Cup contention

GRAEME MCDOWELL ended a two year soul-searching process after clinching a play-off victory in the rain-plagued Italian Open which has catapulted him into Ryder Cup contention.

McDowell captured his second European Tour win at the fourth sudden-death hole when French rival, Thomas Levet, found a water-hazard with his second shot and then conceded to the Portrush golfer when McDowell putted to within a foot.

Both players were among 18 in place on the sodden Castello di Tolcinasco course at 7.30am yesterday morning in readiness to play the last handful of holes of the third and final round.

The event had been reduced to 54 holes on Saturday after Friday’s second day was abandoned due to rain and then any thoughts of getting play completed on Sunday ended when a flash storm halted play for three hours late in the day.

McDowell began his final four holes tied with Frenchman Gregory Havret on 18 under par having managed to hole a superb 12 foot putt on Sunday night moments after the siren sounded to halt play.

McDowell quickly picked up where he left off birdying the 15th to move to 19 under par and a stroke clear of his French rival but it was another Frenchman Thomas Levet, who now loomed as the Irishman’s big threat.

Levet also had four holes to play and his birdies at 15 and 17 for a round of 65 and finish at 19 under par put real pressure on McDowell playing in the final group behind.

McDowell handled the challenge superbly despite his birdie putt from six feet at the 17th stopping agonisingly short of its mark.

He then found the green in regulation at the last and putted from some 35 feet to four feet past the hole and McDowell then knocked the ball in to ensure a play-off.

Both players then managed pars at the first three play-off holes. They played the 18th twice and the 17th before the encounter ended on the 18th green just over three hours after play started.

McDowell collected a first prize cheque of €200,000 that’s moved him to 10th on the

European Order of Merit and behind Darren Clarke still lying third and Padraig Harrington who remains in fourth place.

McDowell, who dropped just one stroke over the three rounds, also earned his weight in Grand Padano cheese and is now assured a 80-kilogram delivery to his Portrush residence.

But of more importance to the 24 year old is winning again. It has been a lean 41 European tournament period since his victory in

Stockholm and up until last April McDowell had managed just one top-10 finish.

“It was no surprise that another win was my short term goal at the start of the year,” he said. “I arrived in Madeira after a few days working in Florida with Claude (Harmon) and my golf swing just felt right and I have been playing great ever since. But this one was difficult to put away and it didn’t matter how many birdies I made or how many pars I had, every time I looked at the board, Thomas was still there with me.

“I am just so happy to win this event because when I won in Sweden I still felt like an amateur but right now I feel like a professional and this is my first professional victory. When I won in Sweden I was just two months into my professional career and I didn’t rate myself as a professional and looking back, and knowing what I know now, and feeling how much better my game is right now, I definitely think I was still an amateur player back then.

“But now after two years of grinding work, learning how to play out here, it’s a different world and I really do feel as though I have worked for this one.”

McDowell also admitted he believe made ‘big mistakes’ after winning in Sweden and lost sight of his goals. “Everything just happened too fast and I just didn’t know how to react to the win,” he said. “But now I know how to react to things and when I work on the right aspects, work with the right people and think well, I can win golf tournaments. So this victory feels five times as good as Sweden.”

The win has lifted McDowell to 19th on the Ryder Cup points table but he’s ruled out any thoughts of earning a place in Bernhard Langer’s side and his bigger focus is a third Tour victory starting on Thursday at the Forest of Arden course.

“The Ryder Cup is not even an issue and I have to win again,” he said. “Whatever happens and I am just happy to be in the winner’s circle again. I have to keep working hard from here and there is no point having these elevated ideas but now I know how to react to a win. I made mistakes after Sweden and will not do that again, so I want to win again.”

Wexford’s Damien McGrane was officially credited with a share of 28th place and sealed sixth place on the season’s first re-ranking that will help his goal of playing in the big money events over the next few months.