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Sean O'Shea by Sean O'Shea

Irishman Graeme McDowell wins U.S. Open golf title in huge upset

Posted on Sunday, June 20, 2010 at 09:42 PM

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- December 2009 (5 entries)

Ulster Irishman Graeme McDowell won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, an historic first for an Irish golfer.

He is also the first European to win since 1970.

The 30-year old showed enormous tenacity on the final round as one after the other the major names blew their chances as the wind whipped up and the course became much more difficult. His father Jimmy was present on Father's Day to see his son's historic victory

He joins Padraig Harrington as the first Irishmen in the modern era to win a major championship.

McDowell barely made the tournament proper, scraping in as one of the top 50. However, right from the first round he blazed a trail that despite some setbacks, left him at the eighteenth hole with only a par needed for victory.

He held off the challenge of the biggest names in golf leaving Tiger Woods, Phil Mickleson and Ernie Els in his wake.

McDowell stated that the Pebble Beach golf course reminded him of his native Royal Portrush course in Northern Ireland which he thinks helped him enormously this week.

"Its like an Irish course" he said," a links course and it reminded me of home."

McDowell started the day three shots behind leader Dustin Johnston who collapsed over the front nine when he shot seven over par.

The likable 30-year-old is a huge fan of Manchester United and snooker and fast cars. He is 5 foot 11 inches and weighs 167 pounds.

He is known as a relaxed,, laid back character, who tells it like it is and is not constantly playing the public relations game

His best finish in a major to date was tenth. He has played on the European Ryder Cup team and is a shoo-in for this year's side

Graeme McDowell was born in Portrush, Northern Ireland a seaside town and vacation resort. The local course, Royal Portrush, on the water, is not unlike Pebble Beach, the course he is currently playing.

Like an increasing number of promising junior Irish golfers, McDowell took a golf scholarship at an American university.

He attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham from 1998 to 2002. In 2002, he won the Haskins Award for most outstanding collegiate golfer in the United States.

In 2001 he was a member of the Great Britain and Ireland team which retained the Walker Cup at Sea Island in Georgia.

He turned professional in 2002 and won that season's Volvo Scandinavian Masters, which was only his fourth start on the European Tour. He didn't win in his second season, but in 2004 he claimed the Telecom Italia Open and finished sixth on the European Tour Order of Merit.

In 2005, he divided his time between the European and PGA Tours. He was not yet a full member of the PGA Tour, but his top-50 placing in the Official World Golf Rankings ensured that he received invitations to play in many events in the United States.

McDowell managed two top-ten finishes on the PGA Tour including a tie for second place at the Bay Hill Invitational which enabled him to earn enough money to become fully exempt on the PGA Tour in 2006.

He failed, however, to finish in the top-150 in the 2006 PGA Tour money list and decided to return to the European Tour in 2007.

In 2008 he returned to the winners enclosure by winning first the Ballantine's Championship in Korea and then the Barclays Scottish Open. He played in the 2008 Ryder Cup, earning 2.5 points for the European team and finished the season ranked fifth on the Order of Merit.

In June 2010, McDowell won the Celtic Manor Wales Open by three shots.

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Helen Ferone | Jun 27, 2010, 02:28 PM EDT

Good luck to him, and I'm glad to see someone else win for a change. I need help from my Irish friends. I've been trying to find out just why the Catholics and Protestants separated instead of uniting all of Ireland. Any books I can get info from? Thanks

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Liamkeyes | Jun 27, 2010, 01:28 PM EDT

Well, he is a Protestant from Northern Ireland and Rory McElroy is a Catholic from there. They have the option of a British or Irish Passport. Padraig Harrington is a Catholic from Dublin, he can only get an Irish Passport but I can assure everybody that Religion is the furthest thing from their mind when they are on the links.

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citizen69 | Jun 22, 2010, 04:45 PM EDT

People shouldn't be upset if someone is both British & Irish. Northern Irish people have the legal right to be both as NI is part of the UK. Being British Irish doesn't make him any less proud of his Irishness. Why should it matter anyway?

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ritmomente | Jun 22, 2010, 09:21 AM EDT

Well it is a pound and it is used in the North of Ireland. I typed pound, not punt.

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Watereskhill | Jun 21, 2010, 11:50 PM EDT

He is a golfer par-excellance. A marvellous feat and accommplisment. And Congratulations. I was riveted to the screen. Hopes he can decifer whether he's Irish or British in signing endorsements, smiling for tabloid snippets or grinning on television. It's a puke already with Celtic Thunder.

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DrTrelawney | Jun 21, 2010, 04:58 PM EDT

"the Irish pound which is a whole lot more secure than the euro." Beg pardon? The Irish pound? Which decade are you living in?

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ritmomente | Jun 21, 2010, 02:16 PM EDT

Well I know folks from Port Rush and they call themselves Irish. Or haven't you been there to notice that there aren't any border checks anymore Realist? If you had been, the only differences are in the color of the phone boxes, driving in mph vs. kph and of course the Irish pound which is a whole lot more secure than the euro.

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hyattsville | Jun 21, 2010, 02:15 PM EDT

Oh for Petes sakes grow up, McDowell is from Northern Ireland period. Brilliant result and it was so touching to see his Dad’s reaction on Fathers Day. McDowell seems like a really nice, genuine man. Looking forward to seeing him play further in the Ryder Cup, rumor has it he’ll probably be paired with fellow Ulsterman Rory McIlroy.

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applejan | Jun 21, 2010, 01:45 PM EDT

who cares what passport he holds? He held his cool under great pressure and won the tournament. Great performance, however, I was rooting for an American to win.

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McNabb1966 | Jun 21, 2010, 01:39 PM EDT

Is England's humiliation at the WC to blame for all the "whinging poms" trolling the site recently? lol Still stinging from Cameron's apology are you?

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Liamkeyes | Jun 21, 2010, 01:05 PM EDT

He is an Northern Irish Protestant so it follows that his allegiance is to the Crown. I would bet my bottom dollar that he has a British passport.

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Realist | Jun 21, 2010, 12:15 PM EDT

ritmomente: Graeme is from Portrush in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is part of the U.K. I suggest you ask Mr. O'Shea why the U.K. is not mentioned in the article.

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DrTrelawney | Jun 21, 2010, 12:11 PM EDT

A very puzzling post Tschetter. There's isn't even "an ocean" between the island of Ireland and the British mainland -- not to mention between the United Kingdom and the Republic. As an Ulster protestant, Graeme will, no doubt, regard himself as both Irish and British. So, yes, there is no confusion there.

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Tschetter | Jun 21, 2010, 11:07 AM EDT

Congrats. to Graeme,a very exciting US Open. Any confusion about him being Irish or English there's an ocean between the two countries,my guess is, he's Irish He'll pay taxes to the crown.....

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DrTrelawney | Jun 21, 2010, 10:36 AM EDT

Not only is he the first British player to win the US Open since 1970, he is the first European to do so. Joan, he is, of course, both Irish AND British. Surely, you don't need Sean O'Shea to clarify that obvious point.

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