Reigning Irish PGA Champion Damien McGrane picked up where he left off last year in adding another trophy to his bulging cabinet, this time at the Golf Mad Pro-Am in Turkey.
McGrane travelled for the 19th instalment of the event alongside 236 golfers from 26 countries to Antalya where his two-under par tournament total was enough to take out the top prize in the professional event.
For his efforts, the Carlow Head Professional took home a healthy cheque worth 5,000 euros while Robin Goger and Liam Bond both shared second place.
Congrats to our Pro @damienmcgrane . Golf Mad winner 2020 in Antalya, Turkey. pic.twitter.com/0ZioNo6vyl
— Carlow Golf Club (@carlowgolfclub1) February 10, 2020
It’s another reminder of the retained talents of the former European Tour winner who’s edging ever closer to the over-50s bracket (14 months to be precise).
One man who doesn’t need reminding is McGrane himself and although he’s not convinced about the merits of turning to the Staysure Tour just yet, he’s convinced he still has the ability to perform on that stage should he choose to take the opportunity.
“I definitely can compete,” he said to IGM last year. “I look at guys on the Tour and don’t forget, I played with most of them. Apart from the fact that we’re 10 years older and the odd duffed chip, we’re all still the same. I can get my game back into good shape, not my body – when I hit 50 I could be falling apart – but I still think I can get myself back into competition mode very easily.
“Nothing’s changed; my swing’s the same. Even my equipment, I left the Tour in ’15 and I’m still using the very same 14 clubs. It’s not important to me. I don’t need to upgrade my equipment. I could be using the same stuff at 50 when I left the Tour five years earlier because it’s all just about playing golf.”
The question remains however – is the hunger still there for McGrane to return to the Tour? Only he knows the answer to that.
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