Irish eyes were smiling at the Indian Masters yesterday, Damien McGrane moving to the front of the field at the Delhi Golf Club as a round of 69 carried him two strokes clear of Graeme McDowell, Rapha?l Jacquelin and Hendrik Buhrmann with an eight-under-par total of 136.
The Irishman played conservative golf on a course that demands accuracy above all and was rewarded with five birdies, including one at the 9th, his last, when he rolled in a putt of about 12 feet. McGrane dropped only two strokes and was rightfully pleased with his work.
“I backed up yesterday’s round with a good round today,” he said. “I played a lot of good shots and gave myself a lot of birdie chances. I seem to be birdieing the more difficult holes out there rather than the easier ones, but really you’d take birdies any time you get them.”
Another of the Irish contingent, McDowell has also found a rich vein of form. He finished fifth at the Dubai Desert Classic last week - a tournament at which McGrane partnered Tiger Woods over the last two rounds - and completed his second successive round of 69, which is no mean feat. “There’s trouble waiting around every corner on this course,” McDowell said. “You’ve just got to be extra patient and try to find the fairways. Despite the course being very short, par is a great score out there.
“Patience is the key word this week. You can’t get frustrated because the second that you try to push it, that’s when you find trouble and there are bogeys, double bogeys and all sorts of things waiting for you.”
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McDowell, 28, has won twice on the European Tour, in 2002 and 2004, but is due another victory. He came close at the season-ending Volvo Masters last year and is focusing his season on three things: another victory, a return to the world top 50 and qualification for the Europe Ryder Cup team who will take on the United States in September.
Darren Clarke, who has been suffering from a cold, was another from the Emerald Isle to finish with a face wreathed in smiles after chipping in for an eagle three at the 18th. It completed a round of 69 and moved him to three under par and nicely placed to kick on over the weekend. Ernie Els, the pre-tournament favourite, had a 70 and is one over for the tournament.
Jyoti Randhawa, who is carrying the hopes of a nation on his shoulders, failed to capitalise on his previous day’s round of 65 and slipped back to two under par after a disappointing 77.