G-Mac living the American dream

GRAEME MCDOWELL threw open the curtains of his $500 a night hotel room at the Monterey Plaza on Cannery Row and stepped out onto the balcony to drink in the salty air and the stunning views.

It was Sunday morning and one wondered if the 30-year-old from Portrush was dreaming of standing there a week later, contemplating the possibility of going into the final round of the US Open with a chance of winning his first major title.

“Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream,” wrote John Steinbeck in his 1945 novel about dreams and friendship in Depression Era California among the sardine canning factories of Monterey.