Irish golfer Graeme McDowell, playing only his fourth tournament in the professional ranks, claimed a remarkable victory in the Volvo Scandinavian Masters in Stockholm yesterday.
His dramatic victory was one of the quickest ever in European Tour history - just six weeks after turning professional.
Perhaps the most relevant comparison is with Tiger Woods who won playing his sixth US Tour event, the Las Vegas Invitational, in 1996.
In the European context, Sergio Garcia won the Irish Open on his sixth start as a professional in 1999.
McDowell (23), carded a closing round of 67 shots at Kungsangen, the course he has recently signed a contract to represent and saw for the first time on Wednesday. A brilliant par at the 18th gave him a one-shot victory; a €316,660 first prize and an invaluable two-year tour exemption.
Earlier on the 15th, his ball cruelly finished under the lip of a bunker and his next shot ended in a nearby lake but he scrambled a bogey. "I've never been happier," said McDowell, who used a putter given to him by fellow golf professional Darren Clarke to single putt 12 greens in an amazing final round.
"To win in the fashion I did is an incredible feeling. I'm just so excited about what it means for me in the short term. I don't have to go to the qualifying school, I don't need any more invites and I've got somewhere to play for the next two years." McDowell spent most of his 23rd birthday on Tuesday waiting for his delayed flight from Manchester to Stockholm, and only had time for nine holes of practice at Kungsangen. But he opened impressively, firing a then course record 64 in the first round.
"I didn't think while I was sat in the airport I'd be sat here with the trophy now," added McDowell, who splashed out for a free bar for his friends watching at Rathmore Golf Club in Portrush.
He intends to buy his mother Marian a house with his winnings. "It's been one of those weeks. Things really seemed to go my way. I feel I have not really played well but my short game has been much sharper. If Darren asks for his putter back it will be a very definite 'No'."
McDowell bettered Tiger Woods's collegiate scoring average while winning nine events during three years at the University of Alabama, and helped Britain and Ireland retain the Walker Cup last year.