Champion decides it's time to move on

Sergio Garcia could hardly wait to jump into the professional ranks; in contrast, Stephen Browne has bided his time.

What the Spaniard and the Irishman have in common, however, is that both their names are now engraved on the European amateur strokeplay trophy . . . and, within three weeks, Browne - at the ripe old age of 27 - will also be a professional player.

In winning the European strokeplay title in Odense, Denmark, over the weekend, Browne found what he described as "a brilliant springboard" into his new professional career that will entail a visit to the European Tour's Pre-Qualifying I next month and, hopefully, Final Qualifying in November as he bids to win his tour card.

Although the Dubliner has earned a ticket into next year's British Open at Muirfield as a reward for his European success, it is conditional on him remaining an amateur. "If I was younger, like Michael Hoey (who won the British Amateur and earned a place in next year's US Masters), I would probably hang on.

"But, at my age, I don't really have time to wait any longer," said Browne, who will turn professional after the amateur Home Internationals in Woodhall Spa, England, next month.

While Garcia got his hands on the European trophy as a prolific 15-year-old in 1995, and three years later added the British Amateur title before moving into the professional ranks, Browne's development has been somewhat slower. This year, however, he has matured into an exceptionally fine player and took the Golfing Union of Ireland's Willie Gill trophy as the most consistent player over the season.

"I've been a bridesmaid a couple of times this year," remarked Browne, a member of Hermitage, who was runner-up in both the Irish Close and South of Ireland championships, "but it was worth waiting for a championship win when it turns out to be the European championship, the biggest amateur strokeplay championship in the world."

The title was won by Paddy Gribben three years ago while Graeme McDowell finished runner-up last year, and Browne's success, he insisted, "is all the more inspiring considering the direction my career is taking. This win couldn't have come at a better time for me. In strokeplay, which is what professional golf is all about, every shot counts and, over 72 holes, everything tends to even itself out and the best player wins. This is a marvellous boost for me." Much of Browne's improvement can be attributed to his decision two years ago to give up his day job as a banker so he could concentrate on his golf game. Working with his coach Simon Byrne, he has developed into a golfer who combines accuracy with an ability to go low. Indeed, since the East of Ireland championship, his stroke average is 68.1, the sort of scoring that many a tour professional would ambush him for.

"I've been working very hard on all aspects of my game but I still feel that there is scope for a lot more improvement," insisted Browne, who pinpointed a number of shots in his third round on Saturday as providing the key to his five-stroke win over Scotland's Stuart Wilson.

One particular shot came at the 17th, a long 220 yards par three, where his four-iron tee-shot didn't get the required contact and the ball finished in a bunker short of the green. Left with a 40 yards sand shot, to a flag on the back of the green, Browne hit what he described as "a fantastic shot, dead. I could have taken the easy option and played out onto the green and settled for a bogey, but you don't beat a field of that calibre unless you take risks."

Meanwhile, Graeme McDowell has been forced to withdraw from the Irish team for the Home Internationals next month due to college commitments with the University of Alabama, where he is a senior year scholarship student. He is representing the college at a tournament in Tokyo next week. He is replaced by Ballyclare's Johnny Foster.

The revised team is: S Browne (Hermitage), J Foster (Ballyclare), N Fox (Portmarnock), M Hoey (Shandon Park), J Kehoe (Birr), A McCormick (Scrabo), M McDermott (Stackstown), G McNeill (Waterford), C Moriarty (Athlone), S Paul (Tandragee), T Rice (Limerick).