 Graeme McDowell keeps a firm grasp on the US Open trophy at Pebble Beach
It's over a week since Graeme McDowell triumphed in the US Open and the euphoria it sparked has given way to calm reflection. Not since Tony Jacklin in 1970 had a European won the second major of the year and before that you have to go back to the 1920s. The 30-year-old instantly became a Northern Ireland sporting great when he tapped in for a 74 in the final round to clinch a one-stroke success. This little country with a population of just 1.68 million has often punched above its weight in the world of sport. The Portrush man joins a long list of Northern Ireland performers who have excelled at the highest level. The mercurial skills of George Best made the east Belfast boy one of the greatest footballers ever while Mary Peters brought a smile to a troubled land after winning pentathlon gold at the 1972 Olympic Games.  | 606: DEBATE |
The pinnacle for local sport came in the 1980s with Alex Higgins and Dennis Taylor winning World Snooker Championship titles after memorable finals. Northern Ireland's shock victory over hosts Spain at the 1982 World Cup was like winning the final while Norman Whiteside's curler won the FA Cup for Manchester United three years later. Barry McGuigan was born in Clones but boxed for Northern Ireland and his world title victory over Eusebio Pedroza at Loftus Road in 1985 gave us another special night. Joey Dunlop's feats on the bike are unlikely to be surpassed with the Armoy man clocking up 26 Isle of Man TT wins and five Formula One world championships. More recently there was Ulster's thrilling journey to winning rugby's European Cup in 1999 and Tyrone's three All-Ireland successes in GAA. Northern Ireland striker David Healy bagged a record 13 goals in qualifying for Euro 2008 and jockey Tony McCoy completed his superb CV by winning the Grand National at the 15th attempt in April. It's an impressive list but when judged on a single achievement, I believe McDowell tops the lot. Winning the US Open became the holy grail for European golf with Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo and Colin Montgomerie among the leading players to miss out in the modern era. |  McDowell showed his mental strength from the start, sinking a series of six-footers and keeping his head while Johnston lost his. |
The pressure on the European contingent to end the drought was a factor before they took their first swing. The US Open provides the sternest test of the four majors with narrow fairways and chip-out rough, where par represents a good score. The iconic Pebble Beach links didn't possess the punishing rough but instead had the Pacific Ocean waiting to gobble up errant shots. McDowell was not expected to trouble the game's elite on the Monterey Peninsula, despite winning his previous event. However, he was in contention throughout and led by two shots at halfway before slipping to three behind Dustin Johnson going into the final round. McDowell was just two clear of a certain Tiger Woods, who looked back to his intimidating best with a 66 in the third round. Multi-major winners Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els were also in the hunt and many believed it was a case of the 'Big Three' chasing down Johnson. McDowell watched Johnson's demise unfold in the early holes as the pressure of being front-runner proved too great for the young American.  Tony McCoy wins the Grand National on Don't Push It |
It was now McDowell against the rest and he kept mistakes to a minimum while Woods, Mickelson and Els frittered away shot after shot. Gregory Havret proved to be the closest challenger but the Frenchman missed two crucial putts as McDowell closed out the championship with a calmly constructed par on the last. This was about keeping your game together under the most intense pressure and golf exposes psychological weakness like no other sport. McDowell showed his mental strength from the start, sinking a series of six-footers and keeping his head while Johnston lost his. Every shot was a potential disaster but you never felt that McDowell was going to follow so many before him and choke going down the stretch. McDowell joins a stellar list of US Open winners at Pebble Beach - Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Tom Kite and Woods. The impact of the victory would have been greater if it had been shown on terrestrial television, but this should not diminish the scale of the achievement. McDowell became the second Northern Irish player to win a major, the first coming courtesy of fellow Portrush man Fred Daly at the Open in 1947. The victory came just a month after Rory McIlroy delivered another landmark success for NI golf, winning his first PGA Tour title at the age of 20 thanks to a swashbuckling 62 in the final round. That took some beating but a colleague suggested that McDowell's feat was the golfing equivalent of Andy Murray winning the men's singles at Wimbledon. A Brit winning Wimbledon? Yes, this sure was something special.
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