McDowell proves he’s the one to watch
However, there is now a fair argument that Graeme McDowell from Portrush has been the most successful Irish golfer of the season.
The fact that his second place in the Dunhill Links at the weekend has seen him leap to 63rd in the world rankings, having started the season in 234th, underlines the point more than a little forcibly.
In contrast, Harrington has remained in 8th place, Clarke has gone out from 11th to 14th with McGinley moving from 157th to 67th, impressive in its own right but still some distance short of what McDowell has achieved. Furthermore, he is now up to sixth in the European Tour money list with a very handsome €1,584,037 to his credit.
The highlight of his year may have been his second career victory in the Italian Open in May but if anything his remarkable consistency over the past six weeks has been even more impressive.
Since missing the cut in the Open Championship at Troon in July, he has turned his season around in outstanding fashion. He was unlucky not to win on at least two occasions - in the Linde German Masters which eventually went to Harrington, and in the Dunhill Links Championship when he lost in a play-off to Stephen Gallacher.
He has also demonstrated that he can shoot seriously low numbers, as evidenced by rounds of 62 on the final day of the BMW International in Munich and another record-equalling 62 over the fabled Old Course at St Andrews on Thursday last.
Since his disappointment at Troon, McDowell has enjoyed the following record on the European Tour: 11th (Nissan Irish Open), 36th (Scandinavian Masters), 9th (Dutch Open), missed cut (US PGA Championship), 16th (BMW International), 6th (European Masters), 3rd (German Masters), 14th (Heritage), 43rd (American Express World Championship) and 2nd (Dunhill Links). In all, he has one victory (Italy), two 2nds (Diageo Championship and Dunhill), two 3rds (Portuguese Open and German Masters), one 4th (French Open) and three other top tens.
None of this, of course, comes as any great surprise to those in the Golfing Union of Ireland who watched his progress as an amateur with increasing enthusiasm.
The year 2000 was his “annus mirabilis” as one championship after another (highlighted by wins in the Irish Close, the South of Ireland, the Irish and Leinster Youths and the World Universities) fell to his outstanding golf game.
McDowell turned 21 during the “South” at Lahinch that year and the Irish golfing world was happy to note that another superstar was emerging from this remarkable little golfing island of ours.
He went on to be crowned Conference US Player of the Year on the American collegiate circuit in 2001. Twelve months later he was the number one ranked collegiate player in the States.
He won an incredible six tournaments from 12 starts, with a stroke average of 69. 6, which beat the previous best returned by Luke Donald and Tiger Woods.
By then, he had also helped Britain and Ireland to victory in the 2001 Walker Cup match at Sea Island, Georgia, and so it was inevitable that he should turn professional in the mid-summer of 2002.
Amazingly, he captured a first victory in the Scandinavian Masters at Kunsangen in Sweden, his fourth tournament as a pro.
He came in a highly creditable 56th in the order of merit from 13 starts before suffering something of a slump last year as he seemed to dither between playing in Europe and the US.
Manager Chubby Chandler convinced him to concentrate on Europe but even then there were some early problems. However, with the help of Claude Harmon, a member of the illustrious American teaching family, things began to fall perfectly into place.
The changes to his swing filled McDowell with a newfound confidence and he duly triumphed in Italy, courtesy of a majestic nine iron at the 72nd that saw off all his rivals and earned him the European Tour’s shot of the month award for April.
The graph has been largely upward ever since - except for a glitch in mid-season when he missed the cut in the Deutsche Bank TPC of Europe, the Smurfit European Open and the Open Championship.
McDowell is convinced that it was those three failures that cost him a Ryder Cup debut at Oakland Hills last month, the only regret of a marvellous campaign.
“I didn’t appreciate how close I was to making the team,” he acknowledges. “Missing the cut in Germany and at The K-Club proved fatal but I was still very nearly there and might well have made it had I really understood the situation. I have learned from that experience and now it is my definite aim to be in the side in Ireland in two years time.”
Given his current form, few would bet against that happening. He will take quiet satisfaction from having moved ahead of fellow Ulster man Darren Clarke in the European Tour order of merit.
Certainly, such trifling matters as retaining his Tour card won’t be occupying his mind, something that can also be said for his compatriots Harrington (3rd, €1,666,390); Clarke (7th, €1,500,455); McGinley (19th, €942,060); Gary Murphy (82nd, €252,941); Peter Lawrie (88th, €221,398) and Damien McGrane (101st, €183,808).
Many others, however, don’t find themselves in such a happy situation as they enter their last two events of 2004, this week’s Majorca Classic and the Madrid Open seven days later. They are both low purse tournaments so anybody finishing worse than 6th or 7th won’t improve their order of merit position to any significant extent. Among those outside the top 115 who automatically retain their cards for ‘05 are Robert Karlsson (116), Roger Chapman (119), Peter Baker (121), Gordon Brand Jr (126), Pierre Fulke (131), David Gilford (134), Antonio Garrido (138), Andrew Coltart (139), Paul Lawrie (147) and Constantino Rocca (201).
With the exception of Karlsson, they are all Ryder Cup players. Some will survive into 2005 qualifying under different categories, most notably Lawrie, who has a ten-year exemption for winning the Open in 1999 and Garrido, the 2003 Volvo PGA champion. Nevertheless, that such a distinguished group of players should be in danger of losing their playing privileges indicates that there is a different side to the heady life of a professional golfer currently enjoyed by Graeme McDowell.
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