The Volvo China Open returns to the DP World Tour schedule after five years away and it is sixteen years since Damien McGrane struck gold in Beijing during an Olympic year.
McGrane will be fondly remembered as one of Ireland’s most successful European Tour players of the last 30-years where he was a model of consistency during his time as a touring professional.
The highlight of his twelve years on Tour was undoubtedly winning the 2008 Volvo China Open while he also rubbed shoulders with Tiger Woods in his pomp. Part of a successful cohort of Irish professionals in the 2000s alongside Pádraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley, Peter Lawrie and Gary Murphy, nowadays he can be found calling the shots at the helm of Carlow Golf Club where he was appointed Head Professional in 2017.
“I was lucky in my life where some of my colleagues weren’t, in that I was able to break away from the club pro scene in 2003 and become a full-time playing pro,” said the Meath man who has a hat trick of Irish PGA Championship wins.
“That was obviously a bonus once you win. I had done a lot of hard work until that point and I was lucky enough until that point that golf was always good to me financially so I took my chances and plied my trade and I had good belief in myself. I have seen both sides of the game and I have enjoyed it.“
The Headfort native has always believed in his own ability and got the maximum from his skillset. After two years of consistent golf at Europe’s top table, he bid farewell to his post at Wexford Golf Club in 2005 and went full-time on the European Tour.
“Because I was able to progress with my own golf skills every year I became more prepared for golf at a higher level. The Irish region kept me amused for a certain period of time before I decided I had what it takes to get on the European Tour.
“It took me a few years to get onto the European Tour and then I was lucky that when I got on the Tour I stayed on it every year and kept my card and learned a few new skills in order to progress. That’s where I was fortunate.
“I left Wexford in 2005 because at that stage I had established myself as a regular member of the tour I had enough skill and game in me to go full-time on the European Tour.”
Upon reflection, there are certain elements of his tour career he might have done differently. Perhaps he could have joined the Tour a little bit earlier in his career, while there were a few near-misses on late Sunday afternoons.
But one thing McGrane had was grit and determination to get everything out of his game and that came to fruition in 2008 when he won his one and only European Tour title.
McGrane romped to a nine-shot victory over Englishmen Simon Griffiths, Oliver Wilson and France’s Mike Lorenzo-Vera, something he remembers fondly and is reminded of on a daily basis in the Carlow GC pro shop.
“I could have done things differently but I know I stuck to my guns and done it my way and I was able to make a living year in, year out I didn’t go through radical swing changes like Pádraig (Harrington) who was always tinkering around. I always believed in my own technique and tried to maximise what I had and I was able to be very efficient and very steady.
“Winning in China is a great memory for me and is still a talking point every week here in the club with members and visitors asking me about the win. It’s a lasting memory for me and my family and the visitors to the club would remind me of where they were that day.
“For everybody, it’s a happy memory and I enjoy talking about it. It’s rare and I appreciate it.”