McDowell defies the elements

Lightning forked across the Giant's Causeway, the intermittent peals of thunder that accompanied torrential downpours had those clutching umbrellas looking nervously to the heavens. Unfortunately yesterday's Irish Close Championship final at Portrush could not match the impressive elemental backdrop.

Graeme McDowell, a 20-year-old student at the University of Alabama, completely outplayed Andrew McCormick, the latter inopportunely suffering his poorest performance of what had been a very impressive week. McCormick struggled with his rhythm, often pulling or hooking the ball left from fairway lies.

His short game also undermined his ambition, two or three miscued pitches compounded by some erratic putting. The heavy showers made conditions difficult, but the Irish international will have been disappointed. It is the third time that he has lost in a major amateur championship final, yesterday accompanying two defeats in the South of Ireland, which came in 1997 and 1998.

It would be churlish to demean McDowell's victory. While his opponent misfired, the Rathmore golfer defied the elements with some fine striking and an exceptional touch on the greens. A three-putt on the second aside, McDowell dropped several hole winning putts, ranging from four feet to 15.

The final was delayed by an hour due to localised flooding - the match had to be temporarily halted on the fifth green to boot - but the Portrush course drained remarkably given the rain, only necessitating moving the hole on the first and 11th greens. McDowell conceded that the wait from his morning victory over Noel Fox to the rescheduled tee-off in the final was difficult to endure.

"It was tough to stay focused I felt a bit tight for the first five holes, not nervous, but a bit unsettled. We got off to a scrappy start; Andrew gave me the first and then I three-putted the second from 15 feet for no reason. I just couldn't feel the pace of the greens. I had to force myself to be more aggressive."

McDowell won the fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth in regulation figures, and the ninth effectively decided the contest.

McCormick had holed superbly from 20 feet for birdie but McDowell stole his thunder by stroking his 12-foot putt into the centre of the hole. Four up at the turn, he merely accelerated his opponent's demise.

The 10th was claimed with an eight-foot birdie putt, the next with a par, his eight iron finishing 15 feet from the pin. McCormick in contrast pulled his tee shot left, fluffed a chip into the bunker and, after coming out to five feet, watched his opponent lag stone dead.

McDowell foreclosed the match on the 12th, a 12-foot birdie putt sufficing when McCormick missed his birdie effort from six feet.

McDowell had earned his place in the final with victory over Fox in the morning, a knee-trembling seven footer on the home green for par earning a one-hole victory. McCormick had easily dismissed the challenge of Dundalk's Danny Coyle by four and two. It was a travesty that the quality of golf that had seen him sweep through the week should desert him in the final.

Semi-finals: G McDowell (Rathmore) bt N Fox (Portmarnock) 1 hole; A McCormick (Scrabo) bt D Coyle (Dundalk) 4 and 2. Final: McDowell bt McCormick 7 and 6.