KELLS golfer Damien McGrane included a stunning round of 63 as he finished tied for seventh place in the UBS Hong Kong Open earlier this month.

The 34-year-old finished with an overall score of 273 for seven under par and that left him just two strokes adrift of the winner, Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie, who earned the 39th victory of glittering career.

McGrane opened the tournament with a highly creditable round of 68 and followed it with a one-over 71 which appeared to damage his prospects of a high finish.

But then came that sensational 63 in the third round which left him on eight under par and three strokes off the lead. He clearly needed another low score over the final 18 holes to win the title and a closing 71 was never likely to be good enough.

His cause wasn’t helped with two bogeys and five pars over the opening seven holes, before his opening birdie of the round arrived on the eighth. However, he gave two shots back with bogeys on the ninth and 10th, before recovering with birdies on the 12th and 13th.

Another bogey followed on the 15th, he birdied the 16th and closed with a pair of pars.

McGrane earned a nice return of over £18,000 for his efforts and will long remember that superb round of 63.