GOLF:Graeme McDowell tells PHILIP REIDhe has never hit a better second shot or struck a better putt in his career than on yesterday's 16th hole
HOW DO YOU design a hero? Do you ensure he measures 5ft 11 in, and clocks in at 12st on the button? That he has an Ulster accent first honed on the Causeway Coast, but diluted by attending college in Alabama? That he has attributes of mental fortitude, and an ability to swing - in his unique, quick-tempo style - a club at a small white ball? And, more so, that he knows how to get that ball into a tin cup?
Do you call him Graeme McDowell? Or, perhaps, G-Mac?
When Sam Torrance talked of heroes emerging from the shadows, did he have someone like McDowell in mind?
For yesterday, when the hard questions were asked, the 31-year-old Portrush native answered them with assurance and style. It has become his way, just as he did in the US Open at Pebble Beach en route to a breakthrough major title.
The man is a rock, but this time, rather than soaking in personal glory as he could on the California coast three months ago, the win was not just for himself, but for a team.
McDowell has always thrived in teams: in his GUI days, his college days, his Walker Cup days and, now, most memorably in his Ryder Cup days.
A debutant on a losing team at Valhalla two years ago, the man known as G-Mac has evolved in many ways since then. Here, Colin Montgomerie didn't think twice about entrusting him with the role of anchor, knowing that if it should come to it McDowell would stand strong. He was proven to be right.
By "holing" the winning putt - which was actually conceded by Hunter Mahan after the American duffed his chip to the 17th and then failed to make the putt - McDowell joined an exclusive list of Ryder Cup winners. He joked later, "I never got to hole it. I didn't need to, thank God . . .
"I can't describe the feeling, trying to win it for your 11 other team-mates, caddies, fans, Monty, Europe. It's a special feeling, nothing quite like it."
On the comparison with the US Open win, McDowell offered: "The US Open felt like a back nine with my dad (Kenny) back at Portrush compared to that. I was nervous, wow. It's just so much pressure . . . but that putt (on 16 for birdie) was the best putt I've hit in my life."
McDowell's strength of body and mind cast him into the role at the end of the order, and he acknowledged it was the toughest task he has ever had entrusted to him on a golf course. And, while the plan was to avoid looking at scoreboards, it proved impossible. He was very aware of where he stood.
"It just so happened that it came down to me. I didn't want it to come down to me, that's for sure. I was hoping my caddie (Kenny Comboy) was going to give me the nod at one point to relax and know we had done the job. I had a lot of emotions in my head.
"That is the most difficult nine holes of golf I have ever played in my life.
"From the 10th onwards I realised my match was hugely important. I found out on the 16th fairway that Rickie Fowler had just halved his match and a half wasn't good enough in my game anymore. I was really nervous over every shot. I haven't felt great about my game all week and really felt that I was struggling a little bit and that I had to grind it out. You know, (number) 16 was the greatest second shot and the greatest putt I've ever hit in my career."
On what goes on inside a player's head with the Ryder Cup on the line, McDowell expanded: "I was imagining losing. I was imagining winning in the same breath. That's the way golf is. In 18 holes, you experience all the emotions of every day, of every life. It has its ups and downs, great shots and bad shots. That's what makes this game so great."
He added: "Golf is a very individual and very selfish sport and we play for ourselves week in and week out. I have 11 team-mates who gave me the opportunity to do what I did."
Now, not only is he the US Open champion, but McDowell is the man who won the Ryder Cup for Europe. With a little help, of course. It's been a great year for the man from the Causeway Coast.
