Damien McGrane Andalucia Valderrama Masters 2010
So far this season Damien McGrane has uncharacteristically missed the cut twice - from a total of six starts – both coming in the European Tour’s Gulf Swing over the past few weeks when the Kells man missed out at the Volvo Golf Champions in Bahrain and the following week at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters in Doha.
At the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in February he made the cut only to struggle in the wind on the Saturday to finish with a round of 75 and trail the leaders in 61st place going into Sunday.
Since the start of this season McGrane has only broken 70 on one occasion in those six tournaments and that was in the third round of the South African Open Championship in Durban just before Christmas.
But we should not be alarmed yet as in 2010 McGrane started the year in almost the identical manner
Last year Damien McGrane only missed eight cuts in twenty eight outings to finish 41st in the Race to Dubai with earnings in excess of seven hundred thousand euro for the year - finishing five times in the top ten.
Indeed, on a few occasions looked as if he would add a second European Tour title - none more so than at the Estoril Open de Portugal - when he opened with a round of 64 only to then finish in fifth place. At the Austria GolfOpen he started with a 67 finishing in a tie for sixth and just three shots off the winner Jose Manuel Lara of Spain.
2008 was his best season and included his one victory on the European Tour at the Volvo China Open in Beijing where he won the event by nine shots to collect a cheque for €232,121 the first major reward for his hard work in seeing a childhood ambition fulfilled.
A year later McGrane had three top ten finishes ending the year in 60th place in the Race to Dubai.
In 2010 he was also close to another victory as put pressure on the other two contenders on the Sunday – fellow Irish golfers Graeme McDowell and Gareth Maybin – with a birdie on the fifteenth straight from the bunker. But a flier out of the rough on 16t after a slightly wayward tee shot proved a costly double bogey with the approach shot to the treacherous 17th completed in one over par.
But a firm bogey putt on the 18th secured a vital share of second place leaving him rather philosophical when interviewed afterwards.
“I had plenty of good fortune, but to hand it all away at the end was disappointing,” he said.
“I didn’t hit any bad shots, I just got fliers when I didn’t need them.
“I holed a decent putt on the last to give myself some satisfaction, but that’s Valderrama - when it bites, it bites hard.”
Having taken up the game at 14 he was first taken under the wing of Joey Purcell, professional at Portmarnock Golf Club and then Brendan McGovern, at Headfort Golf Club in Kells. McGrane became professional at Wexford Golf Club before returning to his roots in Kells, Co. Meath and is an honorary member of Headfort Golf Club.
Damien topped the Irish Order of Merit three times prior to the second of his successful Qualifying School visits in 2003 and one of the highlights of his professional career was playing for Great Britain and Ireland in the PGA Cup Match against the United States at The Celtic Manor Resort in 2000.
On the Irish PGA Region last season McGrane made time to play in the 100th Irish PGA Championship - a title missing in his domestic trophy cabinet - which was held at Seapoint Golf Links where he narrowly lost out on the eighteenth green to an eagle putt from Connemara’s David Mortimer of FORE Ireland.
Fact File
Date of Birth: April 13th 1971
Attachment Olive Group
Turned Pro 1991 (scratch)
Qualifying School 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002*, 2003* [*card not retained]
