McDowell rise reflects rare pedigree

One swallow does not make a summer, although the members at Rathmore and Portrush in Northern Ireland did their best to celebrate the swift ascendancy of Graeme McDowell. Playing only his fourth European Tour event, McDowell won the Volvo Scandinavian Masters in Stockholm last Sunday by a stroke, opening with a 64 and closing with a 67.

Back home, his friends watched a dramatic final round on television, running up a bar bill of £700. "Apparently there wasn't a spare seat in the clubhouse so it must have been a good day,'" McDowell said. "The response has been incredible. Everyone I've talked to told me how they were going through hell in the final round.'"

McDowell missed the party, returning from Sweden on Monday. "The first thing I did when I got home was scan through a tape of the TV coverage. It was interesting watching your own reactions and the stuff that happened. Had to have a look at it."

A delayed flight last week meant that McDowell, who was 23 on the eve of the tournament, had time for only nine practice holes on a course he had never seen before but has signed a contract to represent. By winning £200,000 McDowell has rocketed from 212th to 43rd on the Order of Merit and his elevated status sees him playing the first two rounds of the Wales Open, which starts here in Gwent today, with Sam Torrance, Europe's Ryder Cup captain, and Phillip Price, who competes in the match against the United States at the Belfry next month.

A star is born? It is early days but McDowell, who only turned professional in June, has a rare pedigree. He won nine events in three years at the University of Alabama and had a better collegiate scoring average than Tiger Woods.

Terry Matthews, the electronics magnate and owner of Celtic Manor which will stage the Ryder Cup in 2010, said that Woods is on his hit list to play here. "You've heard of Tiger Bay in Cardiff?'' Matthews asked. "Well, if we can name a bay after him it's only right that he plays in Wales. We'll work at it.''

The Wales Open does not have a policy of paying appearance money although Matthews has put his private jet at the disposal of players this weekend who need to beat a hasty retreat to the US PGA Championship, which starts in Minnesota next week. It has prompted Darren Clarke to pay his first visit here.

When reminded that the asking price for Woods is in the region of $2.6m (£1.6m), Matthews replied: "He's good though, isn't he? Tiger will be here sooner or later. You can be certain of it. He knows about Celtic Manor.'' Woods certainly knows about Royal Porthcawl, where he played in the losing US Walker Cup side in 1995 and had a miserable week on his first, and so far only, visit to south Wales.

Next summer Matthews will not have to lay on his jet. The Wales Open will have a prime new date, 29 May to 1 June, replacing the British Masters and immediately following the Volvo PGA Championship. That, and the fact that the prize-money will be raised from £1.1m to £1.5m, double the sum of the inaugural championship in 2000, should ensure a strong field. With or without Tiger.