Irish title holder Graeme McDowell will today travel to Hoylake for the Palmer Cup match between the University Students of Britain and Ireland and America in confident mood after picking up the bronze medal following four days of splendid golf in the European Amateur Championship over the Murhof course in Austria. "Hoylake will be very different from Murhof but both are great courses and my game is in pretty good shape," said McDowell after being presented with his medal on Saturday.
The 21-year-old World Universities Champion from the Rathmore club posted a closing 67 - five under-par - for a 20under-par 72 hole total of 268. - That meant he tied for second place with Finland's Panu Kylliainen five strokes behind new champion Carl Pettersson who finished with a dazzling 66 - a card which contained six consecutive birdies from the seventh.
However, Killiainen was awarded the silver medal ahead of McDowell on a superior second 36 holes score of 134 to 137. The Irishman started his final round a little tentatively and dropped a shot at the second. He did not let that deter him, however, and bounced back with a birdie three at the third after hitting a seven iron stone dead; and another birdie three holes later when he hit an eight iron dead.
A twelve foot putt at the seventh gave him his third birdie of the round but he three putted the eight to drop a shot before almost holing out from a bunker at the ninth and picking up another birdie to reach the turn in 34.
Three birdies in four holes from the 11th put him in particularly good shape but he could not improve that position and finished with four straight pars. Scrabo's Andrew McCormick, disappointed in his final round taking a 76 for a 284 aggregate which gave him a share of 30th place. Both Ciaran McMonagle and Tim Rice closed with scores of 73 for totals of 287 and 288.