McGrane eyes entry into Doral

Patience is a virtue that has stood Damien McGrane well since he gave up the day job as a club professional in Wexford Golf Club to put all his eggs into one basket by playing full-time on the PGA European Tour.

And, although he now settles into a well-earned two-week break before returning to the circuit for the Johnnie Walker Classic in India in a fortnight's time, that reappearance will come with the added incentive of attempting to make a breakthrough appearance in the €5.5 million CA Championship at Doral in Florida next month.

McGrane, who has moved to 10th position on the current European Tour order of merit, will earn a ticket into the limited-field CA Championship - which is part of the world golf championships that also includes next week's Accenture Matchplay and the Bridgestone Invitational in August and won last year by Tiger Woods - if he stays inside the top-10 on the money list following the first cut-off point that comes after next month's Malaysian Open.

The 36-year-old Meathman's runner-up finish to SSP Chowrasia in the Indian Masters in Delhi on Sunday moved McGrane up 86 places to 225th in the latest world rankings, making him the fifth-ranked Irish player in the lists behind Pádraig Harrington (11th), Graeme McDowell (88th), Paul McGinley (181st) and Rory McIlroy (197th).

That second-place finish to local favourite Chowrasia represented the best finish of McGrane's career, topping the third-place finishes he claimed in the Dutch Open in 2006 and the French Open last year.

More pertinently, though, it is the new qualifying criteria for the CA Championship to include the top-10 on the European Tour money list not already eligible after cut-off points on March 10th (after Malaysia) and again on March 17th (after the Ballentines in Korea) that could yet open up new possibilities for McGrane, who has year-on-year made steady progress in his career since claiming his tour card at qualifying school in 2003.

For now, however, McGrane - who played two rounds with eventual winner Tiger Woods in the Dubai Desert Classic and again got into contention in the inaugural Indian Masters - believes he badly needs a rest to recharge the batteries after a four-week stint on the road that started with the Abu Dhabi championship and also took in the Qatar Masters.

"I'm happy with how I played (in Delhi). I could have won, could have done all sorts of things, but I was happy with second. It's the start of the season and it is a great time to have a second place. I'm happy and content. I'm positive about my golf."

While McGrane unwinds and gets to spend some family time at home before returning to India for the Johnnie Walker Classic, this week's Indonesian Open in Jakarta will see just two Irish players in the field for the €800,000 tournament which is co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour.

McGinley, who has made a solid start to the season, returns to action after taking last week off, while Darren Clarke, who was unwell in Delhi, is also back in action.

The trip to Indonesia this week is a one-off for McGinley, who intends to take another break next week (he isn't qualified for the Accenture Matchplay) before returning to the Far East for a three-week stint that takes in the Johnnie Walker, the Malaysian Open and the Ballentines tournament in Korea.

Harrington, who has slipped to number 11 in the latest world rankings, finished tied-14th in the Pebble Beach pro-am which concluded at Pebble Beach on Sunday. It was the Dubliner's first appearance of the season on the US Tour, and he continues his Stateside travels this week when he plays in the Los Angeles Open at Rivieria before heading on to next week's Accenture Matchplay where he is the only Irish player qualified to play.

The field for the match play is confined to the leading 64 available players off the world rankings and Pat Perez has secured the final place in the field after edging past Anthony Kim in to 64th place in the world. It means Perez is set to have a first round tie with Woods, while Harrington's opening round opponent assuming there are no withdrawals before the official draw is decided next Monday would be Australian John Senden.

Irish positions on European Tour order of merit: 10th Damien McGrane €240,252; 15th Graeme McDowell €172,574; 21st Pádraig Harrington €155,565; 32nd Darren Clarke €118,053; 66th Paul McGinley €58,988; 82nd Rory McIlroy €45,808; 91st Gary Murphy €39,060; 104th Peter Lawrie €31,048.