HOW do you follow up the biggest weekend of your sporting life?

That is what Graeme Storm faces, just days after stunning the golfing world by beating the masterful Rory McIlroy in a sensational play-off to win his second European Tour title.

When Storm chatted over the phone from his hotel room in Abu Dhabi on Monday night, it was the first time he had actually been able to take stock of an incredible week in Gauteng, Johannesburg, which ended with him claiming the SA Open crown after a mammoth final day shoot-out with the world number two.

Storm had even been able to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine in celebration, after a whirlwind 48 hours which he will truly never forget.

The 38-year-old had waited nine years and 198 days to get his hands on another Tour title, finally building on his 2007 success in the French Open.

“I don’t want to have to wait for another in ten years’ time, that’s for sure! I will be 48 then!” said Storm. “But if I never won again, I can go away as a multiple winner, it shows I wasn’t a flash in the pan winner.

“And I have beaten the second best player in the world, arguably the best at the peak of his powers. The whole thing is surreal.

“But I have nothing to be ashamed of now if I don’t win another. If I had let it slip then I might have regretted it. I have regretted the other two tournaments where I should have won, but I have just beaten Rory in a play-off … it’s an unbelievable story.”

The two other tournaments he talks about where the Omega European Masters in 2014 and then the Porsche European Open the following year; he came within a whisker of winning at both events.

What happened in South Africa was different.

Any title triumph would have been special, but to see his overnight three-shot lead wiped out by the 14th, only for him to find inner-strength to battle back and force McIlroy to a play-off – and win it – is on a whole new level.

Throw in how the success came on the back of him losing his card by 100 euros after missing a short putt in Portugal at the last, only for his playing credentials to be reinstated after American Patrick Reed had to drop out, and it is easy to understand why his success was such a heart-warming one on an international scale.

“I thought at that time I had lost it, it went through my mind that I had given it away,” said Storm. “All I could do was hit the next tee shot on the 15th and then I hit my approach to within ten foot on a par five with a four iron. I had the opportunity and things started to take shape again.

“I had to stick with the strategy and because everything that happened in Portugal, the pressure of keeping my card, I think that helped me keep my mind at rest because it was an exciting time rather than a do-or-die like Portugal.

“How did I hole the three or four five footers all the time in the play-off? I am not going to lie I was nervous as a hell over every one of those! I composed myself and I had to believe I was going to hole the putts.”

McIlroy’s dropped shot on the 17th was what opened the door for Storm to move level again and force a play-off.

The pair had never played together before and the Hartlepool Tour pro, attached to Rockliffe Hall, relished the situation.

To be playing in front of thousands, mainly wanting McIlroy to win, was a far cry from the days wrestling to retain his Tour card; even further away from those earlier in his career when he had to drop down to the Challenge Tour and work in a cake factory in a bid to make extra money.

The former British Amateur champion, who still has to qualify for the majors but has climbed up to fourth in the Race to Dubai rankings, said: “The fans were supporting Rory and there were chants all the time. The excitement of it all though was incredible because Rory is the main guy.

“I have played in front of big galleries, but not in galleries with a main superstar hitting a shot, where they all run off when he finishes and they leave me to putt out. It was like when Tiger Woods plays.

“But Rory was such a good guy to play with. I have known him for ten years, and he was very complimentary, respectful and the whole experience was really special.”

Storm had local Joburg caddy Jeffrey on his bag because his usual caddy Garry Melia, who has joined up with him in Abu Dhabi this week, was on honeymoon. It was also the first tournament where he had worn clothing with his new Teesside-based sponsors LJJ Contractors branded on it.

“I keep saying I have won the SA Open … it doesn’t really register,” said Storm. “It hasn’t sank in at all. I have never been so popular, the interviews, the whole thing after Patrick Reed and Portugal makes it a dream, someone said to be it’s like a Cinderella fairytale.

“I now get to choose which tournaments I want to play in. I was wary of where I might be able to play and now it is a massive relief. I know I will be on Tour again next year already. It’s life changing for me in the next few years.

“I went through my 200 messages on my phone on Sunday, my Twitter followers went from 6,500 to 8,500 followers in a matter of hours.

"I even had a tweet from @lfc (Liverpool FC) as well as people like Vernon Kay, Alan Shearer, Ian Wright, Ian Poulter, Ronan Keating and loads of golfers like Justin Rose, who I’ve known for years.

“Locally, I had (boxer) Stuart Hall, Middlesbrough …the support from the North-East has been fantastic. I did the deal with LJJ Contractors, my sponsors before Christmas and it has been unbelievable for them.

"It is surreal.”

Storm returns to action in Abu Dhabi on Thursday when he will tee off in his first round with Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke and Welshman Jamie Donaldson.

He will be wearing LJJ again and managing director Ian Rennison said: “We are so pleased for Graeme and a what a great boost for everyone in the North-East of England for him to win in South Africa.

“We are sure that Graeme will now go from strength to strength this year with everyone in the region cheering him on.”