Beads of sweat lie on the forehead of Graeme McDowell, despite the fact he's seated in a plush lounge chair in the air conditioned lobby of Ocean Forest Golf Club. Outside, it's in the high 80s, and rising, and the sanctuary of the clubhouse is but a brief respite from preparations for his Walker Cup debut.
He looks the part, though. The yellow and white polo shirt with the crested red lion sits comfortably on him. Two years ago, the idea of playing in the Walker Cup was a fanciful notion; now, the 22-year-old from Rathmore, a club that lies a couple of hundred yards from its more famous neighbour, Royal Portrush, is an integral part of captain Peter McEvoy's armoury.
He's ready. Ready to take on the best amateurs the United States can muster - McDowell, a student at the University of Alabama knows most of them - and the player, despite failing to replicate last year's heroics when he swept all before him, feels his game is about to slip up a gear again.
How could he repeat last year's wonderful odyssey that saw him take the Irish Close, South of Ireland and World Universities championship in a matter of weeks? And finish runner-up in the European individual strokeplay championship? And, into the bargain, be the British and Irish team's linchpin in securing the Palmer Cup?
"I've actually played well this summer, but things, small things, didn't go the way I wanted them to," he says. "I just didn't get any runs going at all. I can't really explain what has happened this summer, it has been a weird one for me. However, it is all about peaking for this week and the US Amateur championship in two weeks - and, after that, I am looking forward to going back to college,"
Perhaps McDowell is being overly critical of himself. Since whizzing back across the Atlantic to compete in the British Amateur championship - within 24 hours of assisting the Alabama Blazers to their best ever finish in the NCAA collegiate championships - he has barely had time to rest.
Apart from competing in individual championships, reaching the final of the North of Ireland, he was also part of the Irish team that reached the final of the European Team championships (losing to Scotland) in Sweden, where he won all of his singles matches; and, in the Palmer Cup, where five of the US Walker Cup team were in action, he beat Lucas Glover (to give him a record of three from three in that particular duel) and halved his other match with Bryce Molder.
Both Americans are here this week, both considered two of the stronger members of the home team.
McDowell is highly rated by McEvoy. And, as the road to a Walker Cup appearance gathered momentum last year, McEvoy was one of those who stood up and took notice of the player with a beautifully simple swing.
"This year has felt more of a natural progression and I believe I am good enough to play in the team," says McDowell , who will have a party from Rathmore cheering him on from behind the ropes, including his father Kenny and older brother George .
He is a big-time player who can't wait for the action to start. "We have a chance to make history, and we have the team to do it. There are so many guys on our team who have won all over the world. It is a real winning team. Hopefully, we can gel together and get the breaks."
