Not long ago, Damien McGrane was plying his trade as a club professional at Wexford Golf Club in southeast Ireland. He had ambitions to play on the European Tour, but with time marching on he must have wondered if he would get the chance.
The Irishman qualified for the tour in 2003 and today, aged 36 and with a world ranking of 319, he faces the most daunting test of his golfing life when he partners Tiger Woods - four years his junior but light years ahead in every other way - in the third round of the Dubai Desert Classic.
And how he deserves his chance. With a sandstorm whipped up by a shamal, a strong northwesterly wind that blows across the Persian Gulf, McGrane followed a first round of 68 with one of 69 for one of only four scores under 70 at the Emirates Club yesterday. It moved him to seven under par and one stroke behind Woods, who retained his lead after a gritty rather than perfect round of 71.
The fortunes of the two men contrast starkly. While Woods has won 13 major championships and has earned prize-money, in the United States alone, exceeding $77 million (about £39 million), McGrane’s best results in the paid ranks - barring victories in low-key Irish PGA events - are third-place finishes at the KLM Open in 2006 and the French Open last year. His winnings in Europe to date are £1.34 million, which, although not bad, equates to about two weeks’ work for the world No 1.
Asked if it had been a lifetime ambition to play alongside Woods, McGrane took an age to answer. A no-nonsense, honest player, he is too long in the tooth to do hero worship. “I think everybody here would like to play with Tiger, to be out there with the best players in the world,” he said. “But I wouldn’t say it’s my lifelong dream. My first ambition is to win a tournament on the European Tour.
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“Obviously we all want to play alongside him, to see how the game is played and what we should be doing because he sets the mark at the moment.”
But will he be nervous standing on the 1st tee? “I hope not,” he said. “Golf is a difficult game for me and I have to make the most of what I do. I have to play my own game, no matter who I’m playing with.”
Whatever happens today, McGrane will have provided great pictures for the family album, among them the one taken by his younger sisters, Roisin and Erin, who snapped their brother’s name sitting proudly above Woods on the scoreboard by the final green. That was before Woods birdied two of the last three holes to take a lead he had temporarily relinquished.
Henrik Stenson, the defending champion from Sweden, is nicely placed two strokes off the lead, alongside Thomas Levet, of France, with seven others on five under par.