Six years ago a relatively unknown Irish professional found himself thrust onto the international stage competing alongside the then 13-time Major winning Tiger Woods.

Damien McGrane found himself in limelight teeing up alongside Woods for the third round of the 2008 Dubai Desert Classic after both players completed the opening two rounds with a seven under par tally.

Damien McGrane gives Tiger Woods a pat on the back after Woods wins the 2008 Dubai Desert Classic.

McGrane had yet to win a maiden European Tour event and went out in round three to shock Woods posting a level par 72 to Woods who signed for a  73.

The pair then found themselves together for the final round and with Woods displaying all his class to shoot a blistering 65 for a 14-under par total and win in Dubai for a second time in three years whereas McGrane slumped under the weight of a 79 to eventually finish T44th on level par.

It was an experience that naturally McGrane remembers to this day and would less than three months later lead to the affable Irishman capturing the Volvo China Open.

“I remember the Thursday and Friday were very windy and the course was playing very tough but we all battled our way around,” said McGrane.

“I also remember playing with Tiger on the Saturday. We’d a good chat all the way around and he was very, very easy to play golf with.

“He then played great on Sunday shooting a 65 and managed to steal the tournament from Martin Kaymer.

“It wasn’t distracting playing alongside Tiger.  In fact, he easy to play with.  The whole thing was a very positive experience and I took all the positives from it. I played okay on Sunday and had a double-bogey on nine and a treble-bogey on 18, I spun two balls back into the water so, all of a sudden, I made a bags of it.

“But I was nearly a passenger watching what he was up to and how he closed out the tournament.

“Overall, it was a very positive experience for me and I remember going to India the following week and I think I finished second there.

“As we know, about six weeks later, I won in China so I was able to use the whole thing I used as a positive.”

McGrane has had a best of two second place finishes since breaking through in the Far East and while a second win continues to be the goal of the now 32-year old, he takes comfort still in the thought he could mix it with the world’s best.

“What I realised maybe is that we all play the same game and when we’re performing to our best, we’re all able to mix it,” said McGrane.

“Obviously, he does it on a more consistent basis but it was comforting to see that I could play with him and enjoy his company because that’s half the battle.

“You could go out there and be a nervous wreck but I knew I’d to go out there and play my own game. It’s just that Tiger Woods happened to be marking my scorecard. I enjoyed his company rather than being afraid of the moment.”