European Open: "Who's that with Stephen Browne?" Not quite, but some day perhaps. If anything the reverse was the case at the K Club yesterday as the galleries that watched Colin Montgomerie stride down the centre of most fairways on the Smurfit Course consulted their draw sheet to identify his playing partner.
Browne, a 32-year-old Irishman, who prior to this tournament was 162nd on the European Tour's Order of Merit (144th after), found himself potentially 18 holes away from a sizeable pay cheque. Romance, though, is an infrequent interloper in professional sport as the Dubliner discovered, slipping from his four under starting point to three over for the tournament following a 79.
When Browne nodded off last night, it's doubtful that his sleep patterns were interrupted by the nightmare of a double bogey at the first hole, but unfortunately that's what happened. That thump in the solar plexus disrupted him for the remainder of the round.
Playing alongside Montgomerie - the Scot birdied the first hole - before an appreciative crowd on home soil, at the business end of the field at a European Tour event for the first time, has to be unnerving. But Browne received a fillip from an unlikely source, his playing partner, as the Irishman's game threatened to unravel.
"He (Montgomerie) was an absolute gentleman out on the course. He knew I'd be slightly nervous given that it was the last round of the European Open and I was in a good position playing with Colin Montgomerie. He made me feel very comfortable. We laughed as we went around."
He cited the following example: "On the last, he hit it in to about 25 feet left, and then I hit it on the exact same line as his ball. I said, 'Do you notice I'm trying to do you a favour.' He said, 'Yeah, if it had been another couple of feet down it would have been perfect'. It was good fun."
The excellence of Browne's game that had served as armour-plating for the first three rounds in difficult conditions deserted him inopportunely. "I wasn't that nervous (as) my game was in such good shape going into the day. Before the round on Saturday on the practice ground I hit the ball better than I have ever done, every shot perfect.
"It wasn't there yesterday morning. You get a feeling. I hit a few - not quite bad shots, but I knew the swing wasn't quite there, going out. I was going to have to battle hard, and the double bogey on the first was a kick in the teeth. I was carrying that like a weight on my back for the rest of the front nine.
"I learnt a hell of a lot from the week and my game is in good shape. If I can put four decent rounds together I can win one of these things."
He is now taking a couple of weeks off, possibly to spend some of yesterday's €24,309.26 cheque, and then hopes to get into the Deutsche Bank before playing three European Tour events in succession, Scandinavia and the KLM and Russia Opens. He will move up in his category following the re-rankings after the British Open.
If Browne was left to rue a destructive opening salvo, then Graeme McDowell would have been forgiven had he buried his wedge in the 18th green without a shovel. A calamitous triple-bogey eight turned a brilliant 69 into a deflating 72. With a wedge in his hand, McDowell's third shot to the green came up way short, nestling in treacherous rough short of the apron. He drew a horrible lie, thinned the recovery over the green and into the water. He dropped into an even worse spot, taking three further strokes before reclaiming his golf ball from the cup.
His final score was a travesty given the quality of his golf. "That was the best I hit it all week. I controlled my ball well. I was a bit unfortunate at the last there. I left myself an okay number (approach), trying to hit 120 (wedge). Gust of wind obviously caught my ball and I ended up in a pretty awkward spot.
"It was a bit of a nightmare at the last. But I guess I've got to take the positives away, as I played lovely today."
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