Portrush prodigy Graeme McDowell looked back on his first European Tour win
yesterday and announced: "Now I want to go right to the top."

The fresh-faced 23-year-old moved into the big time with his heroic win in
the Volvo Scandinavian Masters at the Kungsangen course near Stockholm.

McDowell made a dramatic par at the 18th to win the ¤313,660 first prize by
a shot as playing partner Trevor Immelman made a costly bogey.

Now McDowell wants to match hero Darren Clarke and get into the world's
elite with some big finishes in big money events.

But he is remaining level headed and was on the practice ground yesterday
afternoon to sort out some swing problems with his uncle Uel (Short for
Samuel) Loughrey, a green keeper at Royal Portrush.

He said: "I haven't though about the money. I don't need anything and I just
let Chubby Chandler, my manager, take care of all that."

"I just need to get a bit of work done on my game and that's it. I wasn't
comfortable with my driving or my irons in Sweden."

All the same, McDowell plans to buy a new house for parents Kenny and
Marian with the proceeds of his first win.

But his first sign of extravagance was the free bar he provided for the
members at Rathmore on Sunday night as they celebrated his success into the
small hours.

He added: "I was great to talk to everyone at the club on the phone on
Sunday. I also spoke to my ex-coach Alan Kaufman in America and all my
college team mates and the other guys from ISM like Andrew Coltart and
Darren and Paul McGinley.

"I'm feeling pretty good right now. I'm at home watching the coverage again
on TV and just enjoying it. Now I can pick and choose what events I want to
play in and I have no worries about my card.

"I just want to become as good a player as I can and get to the top in this
game. The idea is to get as many world ranking points as I can so that I can
compete in all the top events."

McDowell's father Kenny watched the video of his son's triumph on Sunday
night and again yesterday with Graeme at his side.

And he will be watching on TV when McDowell gets his chance to gain some
valuable world ranking points in the US dollars $ 5 million WGC - NEV
Invitational at the Sahalee Country Club in Washington from August 22-25.

One of the criteria for qualification of the NEC was to win an event with
over 100 ranking points and McDowell fulfilled that one with his win in just
his sixth professional event.

He will play in this week's Celtic Manor Resort Wales Open but will take a
break next week and miss the North West of Ireland Open at Ballyliffin
before jetting out to Seattle for the NEC.

Manager Chubby Chandler has organised an invite into the US Dollars $ 3.5
million Air Canada championship the following week and is hopeful that
McDowell will gain an invite for the US dollars $ 4 million Bel Canadian
Open from September 5-8.

But he was not totally surprised by how the Ulster lad handled the pressure
on the final day as Jeff Sluman, Niclas Fasth and Immelman all fell apart
over the closing stretch.

Chandler said: "The great thing about Graeme is that he is pretty
unflappable and a fairly uncomplicated kind of guy. He's also a heck of a
nice guy too."

McDowell might even find himself in the field with Tiger Woods at the WGC
American Express event at Mount Juliet in Kilkenny from Sept 19-22.

The Kilkenny event is open to the world's top 50 plus the top 20 on the
Volvo Order of Merit.

Now ranked 43 rd on the Volvo Order of Merit with earnings of ¤ 331,285,
McDowell is hoping that his American adventure will help him to open more
doors.

"I'm playing the NEC and the Air Canadian and there's a chance of getting
into the Bel Canadian. I'm not going to play in the US all the time but it's
just a taster.

"I just want to get as far up the Order of Merit as I can and take it to the
next level. I had an off week with my driving this week but I'll take so
much confidence away with the putter.

"It was a weird week. I'd been hitting it great for six or seven weeks but
putting bad. Then Darren loaned me a putter and the putts dropped.

"But I wasn't comfortable with my driving or my irons all week and to be
honest I didn't think about winning until I had that three footer at the
end."

McDowell won six times on the US college circuit this year, finishing with a
stroke average of 69.8 compared to Tiger Woods 70.2

He missed the cut in his first event, the Great North Open at Slaley Hall
but then went to the Murphy's Irish Open at Fota Island and finished 27th
alongside Clarke.

He then missed the cut by a shot at the Smurfit European Open before playing
two events on the Challenge Tour.

He came home second in the Golf Challenge in Hamburg - "I should have won" -
and was 17th in the Charles Church Challenge Tour Championship the following
week after a poor final round of 74.

Irish amateur team captain, Eddie Dunne, will be without McDowell for
November's Eisenhower Trophy - the world amateur team championships.

But he recognised the young Ulsterman's special talent at an early age.

"The years he was in an Irish team, he was guaranteed to get you out of the
toughest spot," said Dunne yesterday.

"If he wasn't a golfer he would be toughest of scrum halves because he has
always had great character.

"It's a surprise he has had success so quickly but that third shot down the
18th to three feet showed his fantastic character.

"That fighting spirit is innate in his character. I once said to his father
that if I was on a nine man patrol and I was number eight, I'd want Graeme
behind me. He's that special."

The world of golf had better watch out. A star has been born.

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© Brian Keogh 2003

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