It could never trump the Harrington Honda, but Graeme McDowell has enjoyed a pretty good Monday.
The second Monday play-off won by a golfer from this island on this year’s PGA Tour does beg the question, why do they like Mondays so much?
Both men ended lengthy winless slumps (Harrington’s seven-year wait on the big-two tours dwarfing McDowell’s two-and-a-half years) and earned an invite to the next Masters following a fifth-day play-off.
“I’ve always been able to hit a big shot at a big time, when my back’s against the wall,” said Harrington after his Honda triumph over Daniel Berger. “I’m excited going forward, because I’ve picked something up with my game. If I get there, I know I can do it. But then, I always knew that.
The surprise after this March victory was that Harrington hasn’t added to it – streaky at the best of times, he was in the running at the Open, which also finished on a Monday, only to fall off alongside amateur bolter Paul Dunne.
Neither McDowell or Harrington made it easy for themselves and Portrush native McDowell admitted after today’s play-off victory over Russell Knox that he has had some doubts throughout the course of a year that delivered no Top 10 finishes before today.
“It really gives me something to grab onto,” he McDowell. “You go through a year like this and you think, ‘am I finished? Am I good enough?’
“It has been a tough year but this is special. I have been dreaming of this day and I said to myself I was going to appreciate it when it came.”
Well done @Graeme_McDowell – his first PGA Tour win since 2013, and clinches his place at next year's Masters toohttps://t.co/5QIjSGeAPy
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 16, 2015
His OHL Classic win ensures the 2010 US Open champion’s place at next year’s Masters and PGA Championship and comes a little over a week after telling the Sunday Independent’s Dermot Gilleece that he will retire within the next decade to focus on his family and business interests.
“There won’t be any Champions Tour for me,” the 36-year-old told Gilleece. “I plan to continue playing until my early forties and at that point, I’d like to go spend some time with my wife and children. That’s my life goal – provided I don’t lose all my money in the meantime.”
There may have been no Major for Ireland’s golfers this year but McDowell brings to four – after Harrington, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry – the number of Irish PGA Tour winners this season.
McDowell’s win may not have inspired the same Monday March Madness as Harrington’s Honda Classic title but his extra-time victory puts the cap on a very successful 2015 for Ireland’s golfers across the board.
He has also put himself back in contention with Lowry to partner McIlroy at the Olympics in Rio next summer.
McIlroy can tie up another Race to Dubai at the DP World Tour Championship this week. Don’t bet against the World Number 3 if the Dubai finale somehow gets rain delayed.
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