Home is the hero as McDowell reflects on famous win

US Open winner Graeme McDowell revealed last night how he was hit by panic after the combination for his trophy case lock was lost.

The Irish golfer’s helpers tried six times to open the carrier afterthe combination went missing as he arrived back at Heathrow from California.

Bolt cutters were eventually used to cut the lock in London after a greenkeeper from Leatherhead Golf Club arrived.

The drama capped a whirlwind week for the Portrush-born star.

McDowell is the first European for 40 years to win the prestigious trophy and among the first to congratulate him were the previous holder Tony Jacklin and Northern Ireland actor Jimmy Nesbitt.

He said: “I can’t get my head round it really.”

McDowell, 30, later arrived in his home town in Co Antrim to the adulation of friends and family last night.

And he said Sunday’s win by a shot was a dream come true.

“I always dreamed big and you have got to work and practice hard.

“I believed deep down inside that I could do something big, I dreamed of winning a major championship,” he added.

The golfer said he was overwhelmed by the congratulations he had received.

Fellow Irish golf star Pádraig Harrington was among the first to greet him while Jacklin emailed him. His website crashed because 30,000 people logged on.

Children held banners and people kissed the trophy as he waded through a scrum of people outside the compact Rathmore clubhouse.

“It has been an unbelievable response from people,” McDowell added.

Members of his family were there to savour the moment.

His father Kennytravelled with him from Pebble Beach, Monterey, California, and brothers Gary and George, uncles and grandmother were in the clubhouse at Rathmore, where he first played as a nine-year-old.

“It is certainly something I have stood out on the putting green in the back of the clubhouse and thought long and hard about when I was a kid,” he said.

His triumph came eight years after his first tee shot as a professional and he admitted he had enjoyed ups and downs during his short career.

“You have got to take the rough with the smooth, sometimes you learn more from the tough times than the good times,” he added.

He said the victory would inspire him even more.

“It is important to put this in perspective for myself. My brain can’t quite get to grips with it right now, it is a lot to take in.”

McDowell, now based in Orlando, Florida, paid tribute to the standard of play on his home turf on the north coast.

“There has been something about this part of the world, we have always produced great players,” he said.

“It was great to come up through the junior ranks in this club, it taught me a lot about what I know about this game.”

He said the last few days had been a catalogue of media interviews, including an appearance on the Jay Leno show and a cameo part in the US programme Entourage.

“I have certainly been running on a bit of adrenaline in the last few days,” he added.

“It has been a bit of a whirlwind and great to see so many friends and familyhere to enjoy the victory with me. It is starting to sink in.

“It was a pretty special day having my father there (on Father’s Day), having him come onto the green at the last, it was a pretty special moment.”