McGrane laments luck of the draw

Damien McGrane was left cursing the luck of the draw as he missed the cut on his Major debut.

The Meath man, 37, finished with two birdies for a super 71 but at 10 over par, he had to head for home.

The damage was done by a first round 79 in the worst of the weather.

It was still tough yesterday afternoon but McGrane showed his fighting qualities to shoot one of the best rounds of the day.

Happy to hit a stellar 175-yard eight-iron to 15 feet at the last, the Kells man got a massive reception from the crowd and confessed that he still enjoyed the experience of his first Major.

He said: “It was good and I enjoyed it. It is great to be here and there was a great atmosphere. That is the buzz you want to feel and I hope to feel it again.

“You just go out and do the best you can in tough conditions. I struggled yesterday but I hit a lot of good shots today and played nicely from start to finish.

“My ambition this week was to go out and play well and I did that today. I hit a lot of good shots yesterday as well but yesterday was a messy day.

“We got the bad end of the draw but that is the way it is when there is a one-tee start. It is the luck of the draw I suppose.”

McGrane started his second round in steady style, rattling off nine pars in a row to turn in level par before bogeys at the 11th, 13th and 16th undid all his hard work.

He got up and down for birdie at the par-five 17th and finished superbly but had to settle for watching the weekend action on TV.