GOLF:ON DAYS such as the one sent yesterday to the so-called Kingdom, with the MacGillycuddy Reeks basking in mighty sunny splendour, this is not a place in which to stand in the shadows. And, if the truth be known, Peter Lawrie and Damien McGrane – seasoned professionals with tour wins of their own – would like nothing better than to hog some of the spotlight from the Gang of Four, Ireland's quartet of Major winners.

Although wins on tour are as scarce as hens’ teeth for the majority of players, Lawrie and McGrane have experienced that feeling before; and want to again. Why not now? The feel-good factor in Irish golf, with quite a flood of Major winners, could permeate even deeper.

“It is like anything, it gives you the belief and will to emulate what they have done,” said Lawrie, adding: “I know my game is good enough. It is a matter of putting all the parts together.”

It’s the same scenario for McGrane, who pointed to Darren Clarke’s win at Sandwich as proof that patience is a key to performance. “If you hang in there and hang in there and you wait and wait . . . we all have the game to do these things but, needless to say, you just have to wait your turn. That’s exactly what Darren (Clarke) did, he waited his turn.”

For Lawrie and McGrane, this Irish Open effectively marks the start of the second half of the season. In Lawrie’s case, with the birth of his and wife Philippa’s fourth child, a first boy, it is a case of catching up after time-out for paternity leave. “For me to have only played 13 times and it is the end of July, it’s a bit of a shock to the system. I have been home so much. But I’m feeling fresh.”

Lawrie – runner-up in the China Open earlier this season – heads into the tournament in 68th position in the Race to Dubai and 139th in the world rankings, which reflects solid consistency. He wants more. Indeed his form since returning to action (18th in the BMW International, 21st in the French Open and 75th in the Scottish Open) has been erratic but only because of his putting.

In France, he played well enough to win – first in fairways hit, third in greens-in-regulation – but found trouble with the putter. As he said, “I didn’t convert the chances I had (in France). I should have had a top-10 at least. But the putter hasn’t done a job all year, it’s average. My game is good enough but I am just not holing enough putts . . . it is about getting the ball in the hole in as few possible strokes.”

McGrane, – with one top 10 in 20 starts so far this season and lying 102st in the money list – has been demonstrating plenty of patience. “I’ve been working hard but just haven’t been getting it together, I haven’t been scoring well. But it is just part and parcel of the game and you just have to take it on the chin and get on with it and keep at it. I have half a year left to get something together.

“You give every week the same amount of commitment, the same amount of focus, and needless to say, you wait for a week when you get the rub of the green and all of a sudden your numbers add up.”