In one fell swoop, Graeme McDowell has replaced the beggar's bowl with a crock of gold. Philip Reid reports

Instead of relying on tournament sponsor's invites to earn his living, the 23-year-old Portrush player's debut win in the Scandinavian Masters in Stockholm - in his sixth start as a professional, but only fourth on the main European Tour - has given him a new status which means he can effectively map out an itinerary of his own choosing.

One of the immediate benefits of McDowell's victory is he is now eligible to play in the elite-field $5 million NEC Invitational, part of the world golf championships, which takes place at Sahalee in Seattle in two weeks' time, on August 22nd-25th. Indeed, that event will likely start a three-week stint in north America - also taking in the Air Canada Championship and the Bell Canadian Open.

As a graduate of the University of Alabama, McDowell's future will likely involve spending considerable time on the US circuit. However, his win in Sweden has given McDowell a two-and-a-half-year exemption on the PGA European Tour - that will be his home tour as he seeks to move up the world rankings.

By yesterday morning, McDowell was already back home in Portrush, and one of his first chores, as it were, was to relax and watch a television re-run of his first professional win.

"It's all been a bit of a whirlwind," conceded McDowell, "but it has been a brilliant experience. In many ways, it was a weird week. I was very close to going to Finland to play in a Challenge Tour event until the invite came from Denis O'Brien to play in Kungsangen and I just can't thank him enough."

That invite to play in Stockholm came from O'Brien, whose European design company owns the Swedish facility and who signed McDowell up as its touring professional.

"It was almost done as a favour, the Irish looking after the Irish. It just happened that the Scandinavian Masters was on the course he wanted Graeme to represent," said Chubby Chandler of ISM, who manages McDowell.

McDowell's ability to win when the opportunity presented itself came as no surprise to those who have watched his progress in recent years. As an amateur, he demonstrated an ability to close out championships.

This was evidenced in 2000 when he enjoyed a remarkable summer that brought him victory in six tournaments in a three-month spell, including the Irish Close and the World Universities; again in 2001, when he was one of the key members on the Britain and Ireland Walker Cup winning team; and in his final season on the US collegiate circuit when he won six times before deciding to join the professional ranks rather than wait for the Eisenhower Trophy (world amateur team championship) later this year. "I think that the wins I had in the United States gave me tremendous confidence, and proved invaluable to me," admitted McDowell.

His capacity to win has been proven beyond a doubt in the way he claimed his first professional title, when, having been forced to play sideways out of a fairway bunker on the 72nd hole, he then hit an eight-iron approach to two feet for a winning birdie. Up to Sweden, his professional career had involved five appearances, three on the full tour and two on the Challenge Tour. On the main tour, he had missed the cut at the Great North Open in Slaley Hall and the European Open at the K Club but, sandwiched in between, he finished tied-27th in the Murphy's Irish Open at Fota Island.

In many ways, however, the belief that he could play and win on the professional circuit came by diverting temporarily to the Challenge Tour. After failing to emerge from final qualifying for the British Open, Chandler got a phone call on the Monday evening offering an invite for one of his players to play in Hamburg. McDowell finished second and, the following week, he again contended in the Charles Church Challenge at Bowood in England, finishing 17th.

"I think playing those two Challenge Tour events built up his confidence," said Stuart Cage, a former tour player and part of the ISM management group. "He got to feel he was good enough to compete."

McDowell is also set to play in the end-of-season Volvo Masters at Valderrama, while his golfing world has really opened up in that he had already received an invite to play in the Casio tournament on the Japanese Tour and there is a possibility this Far East trip will be extended into a three-tournament stint.

McDowell returns to tournament play in this week's Wales Open - where Paul McGinley is the defending champion - but has decided to take a week-off next week, when the North West of Ireland Open takes place at Ballyliffin.

This change in schedule reflects his new found status as the following week he will play in the NEC.

There is a strong Irish challenge at the Wales Open, won by McGinley in a play-off a year ago.

McDowell, McGinley, Darren Clarke, Des Smyth, Ronan Rafferty and David Higgins are all in the field at Celtic Manor.

On the Challenge Tour, Peter Lawrie has slipped from 10th to 12th in the money list - but he is one of six Irish players in the Russian Open and also plays in next week's North West of Ireland, which is a dual badge tournament with prize money counting towards the full tour and the Challenge Tour. Lawrie, Stephen Browne, Ciarán McMonagle, Damien McGrane, Gary Murphy and Paddy Gribben are all entered for the Moscow tournament.

Irish on Order of Merit

3 P Harrington €1,186,406

18 D Clarke €654,022

43 G McDowell€331,285

53 P McGinley€265,588;

130 D Smyth €96,380;

149 E Darcy €67,064;

173 M Hoey €39,748;

177 G Murphy €35,430;

200 P Walton €19,457;

213 R Rafferty€15,327.