McGrane takes his chance and returns to Open road

 

Early in the second week of July in 1994, a group of lads piled into a modest family saloon in Kells, Co Meath, and headed north for the ferry to Scotland. As the reigning Irish Assistants' champion, 23-year-old Damien McGrane felt it was time to broaden his golfing education with a first visit to the Open Championship at Turnberry.

Fourteen years on, he is set next week for another first when he travels in more comfortable mode for a debut appearance as a player in the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. "It's taken me long enough to get there, but I'm looking forward to it as something I can reflect on in years to come," he said.

McGrane is the sort of sportsman who can handle reality far more comfortably than wild dreams. And there was no cloaking his delight at the memory of one of the great, recent Opens, when Ireland's David Feherty and Ronan Rafferty joined the battle at the top of the leaderboard, before Nick Price emerged victorious.

"I went there as an ordinary spectator and it was a fantastic experience," he said. "There they were, in three-ball after three-ball, the best players in the world. Tom Watson, Ben Crenshaw, Greg Norman, guys who were still serious competitors at that stage. You wouldn't see those class of players too often and for me, doing my apprenticeship, it was a great thrill to watch them up close."

He recalled going there in a pal's car and staying in a bed and breakfast for two nights, which allowed them to watch three days' golf. Then they came home and caught the finish on television. After that, there were trips to St Andrews to see John Daly win in 1995 and again to the Old Course in 2000, when Tiger Woods triumphed for the first time.

On the assumption that he plays all four rounds in the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond this weekend, he will be driving down to Birkdale on the Monday morning of Open week. "I've arranged to play a practice round with Padraig Harrington on the Monday, all going well," he said. "That should be interesting." Wasn't he concerned about Harrington picking his brains? McGrane permitted himself a quiet chuckle. "No problem; he's welcome," came the reply.

In sharp contrast to his accommodation in 1994, he will be taking over a local house for the week "so that I can have all the room I need for my family and my friends." But he made it clear that there is no spare room. "There seems to be a lot of excitement around Kells about the Open," he said. "I'm looking forward to that, though I'll be plagued for tickets and car-park passes and 'have you a free bed' and all the rest. You know the drill."

There's only one disappointment at this stage. "I regret that Tiger won't be there," said the player who had Woods as his playing partner for two rounds in the Dubai Desert Classic early this year, when the World No 1 surged to victory. "The world can ill-afford to be without him. Every professional golfer worldwide, whether he's teaching golf, playing the mini-tours, the European Tour or the American Tour, has more money in his pocket because of Tiger Woods."

But won't it be easier to win in his absence? "Some people might like to see the back of him, but you have to be in love with the game and concerned about its future. In which case you want to see the best in action, for the sake of everybody involved, especially the spectators. He adds hugely to every event he plays in and he'll be missed at Birkdale. The sooner he gets back, the better for all of us."

While working in the pro shop at Portmarnock GC early in the 1990s, McGrane made significant strides as a player, learning his trade, as he put it. And he availed of all opportunities to increase his knowledge, as in caddying for Paul McGinley in the Walker Cup matches of 1991. "We don't often get the chance these days of playing links courses, except in the Dunhill Links and in events like the Dutch Open at Kennemer, where I was third behind Simon Dyson two years ago," he said. "That has a real links feel to it."

Against that background, what excuse could he offer for never even trying to qualify for the Open Championship, or any other major for that matter? "I don't do qualifying," came the blunt reply. Then he explained: "If my world-ranking position gets me into the other majors or I get into them by another route, that's fine. But I won't try and qualify. Never have. It just doesn't suit me."

Fortunately for his many admirers, he is in next week's field as a consequence of his Order of Merit position immediately after the BMW Championship at the end of May. And he seems quite calm about the prospect. "I know there will be 18 tee-boxes, 18 fairways and 18 greens," he said, without intending to amuse. "Okay, there are variables, but that's what golf is about. It's as simple or as difficult as that. That's the way I look at it.

"Sure, players look at winning the championship as different, because it's a major. And while links golf is generally rough and ready, I've no doubt the Open course will be perfectly prepared. I plan to enjoy the experience but I don't expect anything vastly different from what I'm used to week in, week out."

On Sunday, July 22 last year, McGrane was on home ground, watching the broadcast of Harrington's four-hole play-off battle against Sergio Garcia in his mother's house. "I've huge admiration for Padraig Harrington, who I would view as the ideal professional," he said. "So I was really thrilled by the way he was playing, his composure in handling the pressure and maintaining the upper hand over Garcia. The zone he was in at the time. He looked like it was his and nobody was going to take it from him. That was a fairly intense hour and when it was over, all the Irish pros were overjoyed that Padraig had won his first major. I'd be a friend of Padraig's and it was great to see him being rewarded for his dedication to the game."

Having achieved the breakthrough of his first European win in the China Open in Beijing in April, McGrane concedes that he has struggled in moving on from there. He has found himself slipping back into the pack, which is no place for a player of his talent. But typically, he's working hard to recover the early season form which made his win almost inevitable.

"My philosophy is that you're only as good as your last game and I'm afraid my golf has been very ordinary in recent weeks," he said. "What happened three months ago is ancient, ancient history in my book and I need to get back shooting decent scores."

Then, as if rejecting any slip into despondency, he found himself talking again about Harrington at Carnoustie last July. And about being in Korea when Graeme McDowell captured the Ballantine's Championship in March. And of the way he himself sparked off an amazing Irish sequence of wins in which Darren Clarke (BMW Asian Open) and Peter Lawrie (Spanish Open) followed him onto the winner's rostrum.

"We must ride the wave as long as it lasts," he said, with unusual passion. "God knows what we can still produce." Nick Price couldn't have been more positive down the finishing stretch at Turnberry 14 years ago.