Graeme McDowell's triumph in Andalucia will take him into the world's top ten

EUROPE'S Ryder Cup hero Graeme McDowell will break into the top 10 in tomorrow's world golf rankings after clinching the Andalucia Valderrama Masters yesterday.

McDowell was three over par for the day in trying weather conditions to finish three under overall, two ahead of a chasing pack of three.

Northern Irishman Gareth Maybin, the unfortunate Damien McGrane of Ireland and Dane Soren Kjeldsen were the only other men to finish under par for the tournament, each closing one under. McGrane, in particular, will feel aggrieved after losing his composure on the final three holes, during which he dropped four shots.

McDowell's win not only made new inroads into Martin Kaymer's sizeable Race to Dubai lead but also books his place as world No 10 - becoming the sixth European in that group alongside four Americans. He started the final round as joint leader with compatriot Maybin on six under but both men lost strokes early on to open the way for McGrane, Maybin bogeying his first three holes on his way to a five-over round of 76. Ireland's McGrane, playing in the group ahead of McDowell and Maybin, started on two under and gradually chipped away to five under to be in the lead on the 16th tee. But with a second tour win in his sights and heavy wind affecting all the players, he made a mess of the hole and surrendered the initiative.

McGrane sent his tee-shot into the rough on the right and then took on an overly ambitious shot that backfired before narrowly avoiding going out of bounds. In the end he needed four shots to reach the green and two putts for a double-bogey six. McDowell bogeyed the third and eighth before pulling a shot back on the par-four ninth.

The US Open champion dropped a further shot in taking four strokes on the 12th but a steady return of pars in the increasingly difficult conditions were enough to ease him into a two-shot lead. The 31-year-old bogeyed the 18th but by then he was already assured of his seventh career win.

Of the Scots who made it to the final day, David Drysdale was 26th with 292, Marc Warren carded a total of 295 for 40th position and Stephen Gallacher a 299 for 50th.