McDowell makes his mark

GRAEME McDOWELL made the perfect start to his bid for a world rankings and Ryder Cup charge when he closed with a stunning 65 to claim fourth place behind Luke Donald in the Madrid Masters.

The 30-year old Irishman knew he needed something special to close a six-shot overnight deficit on leaders Donald and Welshman Rhys Davies and claim his first tour win for nearly two years.

In the end he came up four strokes short but after outweighing a solitary bogey with eight birdies, he heads into what he described as the “meat and bones” of the season with his game in almost perfect shape.