McGrane, Maybin rue what might have been

IRISH golfers have known their fair share of success over the years in the south of Spain and specifically at Valderrama where Ronan Rafferty and Paul McGinley have both captured the season-ending Volvo Masters.

Padraig Harrington won the same event in 2002 when it was held further down the coast at Montecastillo in an exciting finish over Paul McGinley.

There was something of a reprise of that Irish domination yesterday when Graeme McDowell, the winner of the inaugural event, was chased all the way home by compatriots Damien McGrane and Gareth Maybin. McDowell prevailed by a single shot after a 74 for a three under par total of 281, its own graphic reflection of the highly testing conditions that prevailed over the weekend and the innate difficulty of the golf course.