G-Mac's confidence well-founded

CADDIE'S ROLE:Graeme has never been afraid to see himself on the winners' podium before a tournament

GETTING TO the top in professional golf requires an abundance of talent, dedication and belief. But more importantly you need to get a break. The news broke last November about Tiger Woods’ car accident just before he was due to attend his own event in California. Tiger was not going to be able to make it to his tournament and they needed a credible replacement quickly.

Graeme McDowell had no commitments that week and with a little negotiation by his progressive Irish management team Graeme was told to divert from China to California to replace the world number one in the select field of the World Challenge. At the time the Northern Irishman was not inside the top 50 in the world.

In golf you have got to take advantage of your good fortune. McDowell seized the moment by finishing second, charged up the world rankings and effectively set himself up for a spot in the majors this year. It takes a lot of self-belief to be able to suddenly fill the world number one’s shoes so competently at such short notice. Of course he believes unquestioningly in his own ability, an invaluable asset if you are going to constantly prove your worth as a professional week in week out in competition.

There are some players on the European Tour who would look at Graeme’s slightly unorthodox swing and suggest he has not got a good enough technique to take his game to the top of the rankings. On the speckled greens of Pebble Beach on Sunday in the most intense cauldron of the game, he took a lead down the back nine when those sceptics would surely have thought the McDowell action would ultimately let him down.

Becoming the 79th man to raise the US Open trophy in victory has proved them wrong. The game does not have a reliable value system for pure technique. It does reward sang-froid under pressure, though. McDowell’s playing partner, one of the new kids on the US block, Dustin Johnson, has an unusual long-hitting action which unravelled under the strain of a final day major lead but he will take a huge amount of experience from his final round at Pebble into his next major.

Graeme has never been afraid to see himself on the winner’s podium before the start of an event. It takes some gumption to be able to talk about winning in the preamble of a major. I recall taking heed when I heard him say it was his best chance to win a green jacket earlier this year in the run up to the Masters. I didn’t really believe him and thought it might not have sounded good coming from a player who had scraped into the event and not shown form in majors in the past.

After last week I have a different understanding of the US Open champion – talking himself up works for him. Understanding what works for you as a professional is the most important part of your profession.

I have never doubted his work ethic. One of my colleagues on the European Tour grew up playing amateur golf in Portrush with McDowell. Apart from recognising his talent he said when he went home for tea on the long summer evenings from the course Graeme may well have had a bit to eat but he went back to the course to avail of the late summer light and practice. It is probably incomprehensible to outsiders to imagine how hard some of these guys work. It is this work rate and dedication that carries you through the back nine of a major with the knowledge you could not have spent a minute more to prepare for the ultimate test.

We played a practice round with Graeme in Singapore last year and ended up leaving him behind because he was redrawing the greens on his yardage book to his own satisfaction. This is normally the caddie’s role.

As the seagulls squawked and the pacific waves crashed against the Monterrey peninsula last Sunday Graeme must have felt not all that far from home on the Antrim coast. It was the first time he had been in the final day lead of a major championship with the trophy waiting behind the final green for him to collect.

After Gregory Havret missed his birdie chance in front of McDowell, who was watching him from the first cut of rough just over 220 yards back down the right side of the fairway, he was put in a slightly easier position in that he didn’t need a birdie.

But this also meant he had a vital decision to make, go for the green in two or lay up. We could hear the conversation between him and his caddie, Ken.

It seemed like Ken had to be forceful in suggesting that hitting a wedge or nine iron down the fairway and leaving himself a comfortable 100-yard shot to the pin was the correct option. Of course he was under pressure, his movements became more agitated. This naturally happens, your mind works overtime, you think of everything, you hear the waves crashing on the beach, you hear the sound of the crowd amplified unless of course you can control yourself and let your rational golfing brain do its job.

With the persuasion of his experienced caddie Graeme made the right decision and left himself 99 yards to the hole, wedged on to the green and two-putted for a place in golfing history.

Graeme McDowell is talented, relentlessly dedicated and with the self-appointed nickname of G-Mac is not short of confidence. With such a brave performance at Pebble Beach he can call himself what he likes. He has surprised many of us by being the first Northern Irishman to win the US Open. The one person he didn’t surprise was himself.