Beach boy hits the high note

WINNING major championships can do wonders for a golfer’s career.

Not alone did Graeme McDowell’s marvellous victory at Pebble Beach on Sunday earn him $1.35m (€1.08m) but it moved him up 24 places in the world rankings to a career high 13th and to second in the Ryder Cup list – making him a certainty for Celtic Manor next October.

There are countless other perks – such as a five-year exemption into all the world’s major championships – but most important of all, a very special place in the annals of the game as the first European champion in 40 years and a member of a very select band of players who have captured the US Open at Pebble Beach.

“To win at Pebble Beach, to join the names, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Tom Kite, Tiger Woods, me – wow,” McDowell said with a chuckle. “I’m not quite sure if I belong in that list, but, hey, I’m there now. It’s pretty amazing. There’s not too many bad golfers on this trophy. And to join an elite list of names, I mean, careers are defined by major championships and my career’s off and running today.”

I first met Graeme McDowell in the latter years of the 90s and over the years I have invariably found him to be a courteous, articulate and highly intelligent individual with a low key but appealing sense of humour.

McDowell doesn’t knock it miles off the tee or try for too many spectacular shots, instead he uses his talents and the wisdom he has accrued over the years to keep his ball in play, be patient and only chase the birdies when it is prudent to do so. These are priceless attributes for any golfer to have in the locker, all the more so when it comes to major championships like the US Open.

The USGA’s famous mantra is they are seeking to “identify the best player in the field” and they set up their courses in such a difficult fashion that nobody is going to run away from the field and par is always a good score.

McDowell quickly realised this on arriving at Pebble Beach and with the common-sense support of his outstanding caddie, Ken Comboy, settled on a game plan from which he never deviated and delivered what he described as “an unbelievable result”.

How fitting it was that Graeme’s father Kenny was with him in his greatest moment. Like so many parents have been doing for years, he drove his son all over the country to boys, youths and senior championships. Kenny isn’t the kind of man to look for a return on his “investment” and instead gloried in Graeme’s achievements, not least those back in 2000 when he won the Irish Close, the South and North of Ireland and Irish Youths Championships and just about everything else on offer, including the World Universities Championship.

It was apparent even then that a very special talent was on the way and after five wins on the European Tour, everything was capped by events in the Monterey Peninsula on Sunday.

“My dad was always by my side for every shot coming through my amateur career, up through college golf and into the pro ranks,” McDowell said. “I didn’t want for much growing up but I was certainly under no illusions that I was going to have to work hard for anything I achieved in my life.”

Then there was Graeme’s manager, Conor Ridge of Horizon Sports Management. It was a major coup for the Galway-born, Dublin-based Ridge when McDowell left Chubby Chandler’s International Sports Management Company a couple of years ago to join Horizon. At the time, they hardly knew each other but a close friendship quickly developed and with the exception of caddie and father, nobody was closer to the new champion than Ridge for whom, now of course, many new avenues have been opened and challenges lie ahead.

As all of this sinks in for the McDowell camp and they recover from the celebrations that included a bit of craic with no less than Clint Eastwood, the people behind the forthcoming JP McManus Invitational ProAm at Adare Manor on July 5-6 and the “3” Irish Open at Killarney over the August weekend are rubbing their hands in glee.

‘One of our own’ will be teeing it up as the US Open champion, ! however, many are already wondering if McDowell qualifies for such a description. The European Tour decided for reasons best known to themselves to label Ulster golfers as “Northern Irish” when there is no such golfing entity. Yet, McDowell and McIlroy represented Ireland in last year’s World Cup of Golf just as Ronan Rafferty and David Feherty did in the past.

Darren Clarke’s good natured comment – “give me the orange part” – as the tricolour was wrapped around himself, Pádraig Harrington and Paul McGinley at the end of successful Ryder Cup matches, has stood him in good stead in this part of the country while apparently not doing him any harm north of the border. When news of golf’s participation in the 2016 Olympic Games broke, while Rory McIlroy rushed to comment that “I see myself as part of Team GB”, McDowell held his counsel, pointing that he would be happy just to be part of an Olympic Games.

While the whole country is celebrating McDowell’s achievement, many are also wondering when we are again going to see Harrington reminding the world of golf that he is still around. True, he didn’t play badly at Pebble Beach and finished in a tie for 22nd but three rounds of 73 and one of 72 – all over par – weren’t a whole lot above mediocre and left him nine behind his fellow Irishman. Harrington, now 15th in the world rankings, remains in the US this week for the Travellers Championship in Connecticut, while McIlroy (he holds on to 10th spot) takes a few days off before returning to action in the French Open in Paris next week.