McDowell ready to begin hunt for big game

IRELAND’S Graeme McDowell has only to look around him this week to see what a difference one shot has made to his life.

The 23-year-old's victory in the Scandinavian Masters earlier this month in only his fourth professional tournament has put him alongside the game's biggest names at the 4.7 million NEC world championship in Seattle starting tomorrow.

''When I heard I had qualified I was quite shocked it's the biggest event I've ever played in,'' said McDowell, the first of last year's Walker Cup-winning side to taste success in the paid ranks.

''I'm really excited about it. This is what I've practiced all my life for and while at the back of my mind is the thought that this has all happened a bit fast, I am in the position I want to be.''

That position, naturally, is competing against Tiger Woods, who after his PGA championship near-miss is now going for his fourth successive NEC victory.

Nobody has done that on the US Tour since Gene Sarazen in 1930. McDowell was level with South African Trevor Immelman with one hole to play in Sweden. When the Irishman drove under the lip of a fairway bunker and could only hack out Immelman was clear favourite for the £200,000 first prize.

The Rathmore golfer hit his third shot before Immelman hit his second, but it was an eight iron to two feet and Immelman then went over the green and failed to get up and down.

McDowell was only too happy to pay a bar bill of around 1,000 at his home club that night.

''It was quite disappointing really,'' he said with a smile yesterday. ''I think Darren got hit a bit more after his first win.''

Darren, of course, is Darren Clarke, his fellow Ulsterman and now a stablemate as well. It was even one of his putters that McDowell used to win.

''It's still in the bag,'' he said. ''Darren has helped me in lots of ways already telling me about tournaments and generally pointing me in the right direction.''

The two move on to Canada next week, McDowell playing two US Tour events there and Clarke one before coming home to recharge batteries prior to the Ryder Cup.

''The people at Rathmore spoke very highly of him,'' commented Clarke.

''And then we played together for nine holes between Christmas and New Year last year.

''He's done fantastic. When he won I rang him and said that Royal Portrush's number two wanted to know how Portrush's number one was.''

McDowell's name will be known to those Americans who follow the college scene. In his final year at the University of Alabama he won six out of 12 events and finished as the number one-ranked player in the States with a stroke average of 69.6, taking a record previously held by Tiger Woods and then Walker Cup team-mate Luke Donald.

Winning his fourth pro event out-did Woods as well. It took the world number one five tournaments to triumph. Woods then won again two tournaments later and if McDowell emulates that he will be a million dollars richer on Sunday night.

He is looking at the event, of course, more as a learning experience, but adds: ''I'm not sure that a 'nothing to lose' attitude works.

''I'm just going to try to get as much as I can out of the week.''