PGA Grand Slam of Golf: Graeme McDowell

PGA GRAND SLAM OF GOLF APPEARANCES: 2010
MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP WINS: 2010 U.S. Open
WORLDWIDE VICTORIES: 6
BIRTHDATE: March 7, 1979
BIRTHPLACE: Portrush, Northern Ireland
RESIDENCE: Portrush, Northern Ireland
FAMILY: Single
SPECIAL INTERESTS: Snooker, cars, Manchester United
TURNED PROFESSIONAL: 2002

By Bob Denney, Special to PGA.com

Eight years after declaring himself a professional, Graeme McDowell fulfilled a lifetime dream of hoisting a major championship trophy and in the process carved his name in golf history.

McDowell two-putted for a winning par on the 18th hole at Pebble Beach in the 110th United States Open Championship in June, raised his arms in triumph, looked skyward and first got an embrace from his caddie, then from his father, Kenny.

“You’re something, kid,” Kenny McDowell said on what had to be the most memorable Father’s Day of his life.

Papa McDowell most likely knew that there is something magic in the water in Portrush, Northern Ireland, but it took much of the rest of the western world some time to figure it out. Portrush was home to the late Fred Daly, the only other Northern Ireland native son to win a major championship.

Daly, whose name is perpetuated today on a trophy honoring the Irish Boys’ inter-club event and in a family- owned golf equipment company, won the 1947 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England.

The middle child of three brothers, McDowell picked up a golf club for the first time at age 7, when his dad would take him and younger brother, Gary, to the local pitch- and-putt course. At the age of 10, the boys were allowed to join Rathmore, the golf club which shares the world- famous links of Royal Portrush, and it was there that he honed his skills.

McDowell’s final-round 74 was the highest score by a U.S. Open Champion since Andy North in 1985, but that is lost in how he handled his 72 holes throughout the Open crucible. In the process of his steady, gritty play, McDowell also became the first European since Tony Jacklin in 1970 to win a U.S. Open. France’s Gregory Havret, who closed with a 72, finished one stroke back.

“I can’t believe I’m standing with this right now,” McDowell said, posing with silver trophy. “It’s a dream come true. I’ve been dreaming it all my life. Two putts to win the U.S. Open. Can’t believe it happened.”

McDowell added his first victory in the United States to five European Tour victories, most recently the Celtic Manor Wales Open in May on the home course for the 38th Ryder Cup. With his triumph at Pebble Beach, McDowell now has won a professional title in six different countries and three continents.

As McDowell celebrated a major championship, one can look back upon the legacy of his fellow countryman, Fred Daly, once more.

 His name lives on in Fred Daly Golf, and in a competition that many youngsters like McDowell and Rory McIlroy have experienced -- the Fred Daly Trophy, presented to the winning side in the Irish Boys’ Inter-Club team event. McDowell’s own developmental years in the game included his winning the 1996 Ulster Boys’ Championship, the 1999 Irish Youth’s Championship, and four titles in 2000 -- the Irish Amateur Closed Championship, Irish Youths Championship, World Universities Championship and South of Ireland Championship.

Such a stellar start, however, is not one that turns heads away from the Emerald Isle. You wonder where McDowell would have made his first international impact had he not received the support of a fellow countryman once the 2000 recruiting season began for Alan Kaufman, the head coach at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. About that time, McDowell had enrolled in an honors course at Queen’s University in Belfast, where he joined the golf team.

Meanwhile, Kaufman asked one of his players, Northern Ireland’s Chris Devlin, if he knew any other good Irish players. Devlin suggested McDowell, who was actually No. 2 on Kaufman’s list. If the No. 1 choice had not chosen the University of Toledo, Kaufman said that it would have been unlikely he would have signed McDowell. When the scholarship money for McDowell fell a little short, Devlin gave up part of his own scholarship to help get McDowell onto the team. Despite his small-town background, McDowell adjusted quickly to life in Birmingham.

According to Coach Kaufman, McDowell’s golf game “took a little longer” to develop.

“When he got here, he couldn’t hit the ball as far as he does now, but he hit it straight and had a good short game. He was a solid player, and you could tell he had potential. But none of us had any idea he was going to be as good as he turned out to be.”

After a fairly undistinguished freshman season, McDowell won the last tournament of the year in what Kaufman called a turning point for the program. He produced a solid sophomore campaign, then made a big leap forward as a junior, earning All-American honors and helping UAB advance to the NCAA finals for the first time in school history.

A year later, he again earned All-American honors after winning six of 12 tournaments and garnering the Fred Haskins Award as the nation’s outstanding collegiate player.

In 2002, McDowell turned professional and won the Volvo Scandinavian Masters in just his fourth start on the European PGA Tour. He added four more wins in the ensuing years, including a victory at the Wales Open this past spring. But nothing to that point in his career could rival the Father’s Day triumph at Pebble Beach, on a course that bears the links-style of Ireland and where you are rewarded for hitting the ball straight and finding the right spots on smaller greens.

Coach Kaufman said that McDowell’s U.S. Open victory has elevated the UAB program beyond its Southeastern borders.

“When I mentioned Graeme’s name in the past, some people knew who he was and some didn’t,” said Kaufman. “Today, everyone knows.”

This story appears courtesy of the 2010 PGA Grand Slam of Golf Official Journal.