Graeme McDowell knew how far he had fallen when he was sitting on the sofa watching the final round of the 2017 US Open with his two young daughters and he saw their look of disbelief when he told them that he had also won that trophy not so long ago.
The things that ran through his mind. On the screen Brooks Koepka had bombed his way up the 18th hole at Erin Hills and was holding the trophy.
'I could tell my girls didn't believe me when I told them that I'd done that,' he recalled. 'So, I went to my office and came back with my replica, and you could see them looking at Brooks with his trophy and looking at me, and thinking, "Ok, then".
Graeme McDowell celebrates with the trophy after US Open victory at Pebble Beach in 2010
McDowell's daughters did not believe at first that he had won the famous trophy
'It was a poignant moment. I was struggling at the time and, deep down, thinking: maybe this is what it is going to boil down to. I'll have to pull the trophies out and remind them about yesteryear, when I used to be good.
'I was wondering: Is this it? Is this all I've got? Is it going to be reflection time for the rest of my life? Now, thankfully, I've bought myself a couple of years where I can show whether I've still got it.'
The reprieve follows his emergence from the wilderness with his first PGA Tour victory since November 2015, in the Dominican Republic in March, and could not have been better timed.
Next week, the US Open makes its long-awaited return to its most celebrated venue, spectacular Pebble Beach. The last time it was staged there in 2010, G-Mac became the first golfer from the UK to win America's national title since Tony Jacklin 40 years earlier — and the first from the island of Ireland.
McDowell not only played with Dustin Johnson over the final two rounds, the three best players of their generation — Ernie Els, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson — finished third, and tied fourth respectively.
'I still think the 66 that Dustin shot on the Saturday was the finest round of golf that I've ever witnessed,' said McDowell. 'On Sunday, though, he triple-bogeyed the second hole and then had to reload at the third and I was thinking, "This is back in my control".'
The Northern Irishman looks to the sky after sealing his biggest triumph on the 18th hole
Pebble Beach showed all its cruel beauty that day. It is a course with small greens and when the flags are tucked away and the breeze picks up, it is all about survival. In other words, perfect for the man who honed his skills on the rough, exposed shoreline of Portrush, on the northern tip of Northern Ireland.
'It was such a difficult test,' said McDowell. 'Most of the time you weren't looking at the flags at all, you were just trying to crawl the ball on to the greens so you could potentially leave yourself an uphill two-putt. It required the ultimate discipline with your iron play and, yeah, I love that type of golf.'
McDowell had travelled to California in buoyant mood, having won the Wales Open a fortnight earlier. He
