Posts tagged McDowell
Golf: ‘Adopted Welshman’ McDowell ready for Augusta test
Apr 3rd
IAN Woosnam is unlikely to be wearing the Green Jacket next Sunday night as US Masters champion, though one ‘adopted Welshman’ might.
For former Cardiff resident Graeme McDowell will head to the Augusta National this week as part of the proud European contingent at the top end of world golf, all of whom have a genuine shot at claiming the first golfing Major of the season.
“Obviously it would be a huge honour to be able to slip that jacket on my shoulders at any stage during my career,” said McDowell, who set up home in the Welsh capital with former girlfriend Kimberley Stanworth in 2003 before splitting up some time later.
“Augusta is a truly special place and the Masters is a phenomenal and unique golf tournament steeped in history.
“I was lucky enough to experience the thrill of winning a Major last year at Pebble Beach and to experience winning the Masters at some point would be a really special feeling.
“All I can do is work hard and prepare myself as best I can, but everyone who knows me knows that to be in the mix on the back nine of a Sunday afternoon at Augusta is a challenge I would relish.”
Being in that situation would bring immense pressure, but the seven-time European Tour champion showed last year he is more than equipped to handle the demands of big-time professional golf.
Two weeks after winning the Wales Open title at Newport’s Celtic Manor, McDowell kept his head at Pebble Beach to become the first European golfer in 40 years to win the US Open.
He followed that up with an ice-cool display in the anchor match of the Ryder Cup singles back at the Celtic Manor Resort, beating Hunter Mahan 3&1 to ease Europe over the winning line.
As well as having the ‘bottle’ to handle such situations, McDowell admitted that preparing the groundwork thoroughly before any Major was vital – and nowhere more so than among the azaleas.
“Augusta requires every aspect of your game to be absolutely razor sharp,” he added.
“You need to drive it well, know where to land the ball on the greens, and, even more importantly, know where not to hit it on the greens.
“Furthermore, your short game needs to be in good shape and you must putt well.
“Good preparation is key and I’ll be spending time playing Augusta this week to map out how I will play each hole.”
From www.walesonline.co.uk
Top-10 players McDowell, Kuchar among Heritage commitments
Mar 29th
Related Content 
Heritage page PGA Tour homepage
Four more players, including two ranked in the world’s top 10, have committed to play next month in the 43rd annual Heritage.
Graeme McDowell, Zach Johnson, Trevor Immelman and Matt Kuchar have all agreed to play in the tournament, which will be held April 18-24 at Harbour Town Golf Links.
McDowell, a Northern Irishman, earned his first PGA Tour victory last year at the U.S. Open. The European Ryder Cup team member is No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
His last trip to Harbour Town was 2005.
Kuchar won three times in 2010 and rose to No. 9 in the world. Kuchar competed in the Players Amateur at Belfair Golf Club in Bluffton while a student at Georgia Tech.
Johnson, won the 2007 Masters and has earned more than $20 million during his career. He followed his Masters victory by finishing sixth at the Heritage, his best finish at the tournament.
Immelman, a South African, won the 2008 Masters and has won six tournaments worldwide since turning professional in 2009. Immelman spent 2009 recovering from wrist surgery. He made cuts in four of his first five starts in 2011.
This year will mark Immelman’s sixth Heritage appearance.
The latest commitments join an earlier group that includes defending champion Jim Furyk, and past Heritage champions Davis Love III, Stewart Cink, Boo Weekley and Justin Leonard.
From www.islandpacket.com
McDowell finishes on a high
Mar 6th
irishtimes.com – Last Updated: Sunday, March 6, 2011, 19:18McDowell finishes on a high
Golf: Graeme McDowell shot a four-under-par 64 to jump 22 places in the final round of the Honda Classic in Florida, but South African Rory Sabbatini remained firmly on course for his sixth PGA Tour win. The Irishman began the in a share of 30th place after rounds of 73,71 and 70 but five birdies on a flawless card catapulted him into the top 10 on two under.
Sabbatini reached the turn in a level par 35, two-putting the long third for birdie, but then having his first three-putt bogey of the week on the 421-yard ninth.
That took him back to nine under, with former winner YE Yang and American Jerry Kelly five under and former United States amateur champion Ricky Barnes one further back.
Tee-off times had been brought forward because of the threat of afternoon thunderstorms in the Palm Beach Gardens area.
Lee Westwood, who had needed a top-three finish to reclaim the world number one spot, finished four over after a 70, while Rory McIlroy was 14 over, three over for the day, after 14 holes of his final round.
From www.irishtimes.com
McDowell slams arm-chair accusers for making mockery of golf
Jan 22nd
January 22 — Get-a-life TV viewers are making golf a laughing stock, according to U.S. Open champ Graeme McDowell.
McDowell, nine shots back of leader Martin Kaymer after three rounds of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, let it rip after a viewer’s alert to European Tour officials led to Padraig Harrington’s disqualification from the same event. Officials DQed Harrington after he inadvertently moved his ball as he replaced his marker during the first round at Abu Dhabi Country Club. Euro Tour senior referee Andy McFee reviewed videotape of the incident after receiving the remote alert via e-mail and then banished McDowell for signing an incorrect scorecard.
McDowell was one unhappy golfer. “Anoraks! Too much time on their hands. It makes a mockery of the game when we are penalizing players for something as crazy as that,” the 31-year-old from Northern Ireland told the U.K’s Daily Record. “TV viewers are important to us. High-definition, 3D, and slow-mo add to the experience of watching golf on TV. But some of the fiddly, pernickety, stupid little rules need to be looked at.”
McDowell faced a similar situation after a TV watcher charged him with moving his ball as he set up to hit a shot to the 18th green during the first round. Officials ruled he had not committed a foul.
An “anorak,” by the way, appeared to be British slang for a geek or a nerd obsessed with subjects of no interest to most of the population. Perhaps a poor analogy for a game that needs all the viewers it can get, but McDowell made his point.
McDowell was hardly the first pro golfer to speak up about the tours accepting rulings advice from the at-home gallery. Fellow Abu Dhabi competitor, Ian Poulter, has been quite outspoken about his distaste for such goings-on. He called the golf fan who tweeted PGA Tour officials about a Camilo Villegas violation earlier this month a “snitch.”
The irony of the latest infraction was not lost on golfer Paul McGinley, who noted that Harrington’s boot occurred in the same week that the Euro Tour banned Scottish golfer Elliot Saltman for three months for repeatedly moving his ball during a tournament last year.
“Isn’t it ironic that in a week when we had a major rules infringement dealt with it should be someone as squeaky clean as Padraig who gets disqualified,’ McGinley said for the Record.
Meanwhile, on the course in Abu Dhabi, Kaymer, at 18-under heading into final-round play, was five shots clear of Rory McIlroy. Phil Mickelson who shares fourth place in golf’s rankings with McDowell, was 3-under, and the world’s No. 1 Lee Westwood was tied for 65th at 1-over.
From www.waggleroom.com
McDowell pleased to answer equipment ‘questions’
Jan 11th
Latest News : Top Story Sport
McDowell pleased to answer equipment ‘questions’
By Tim Lesnik
Graeme McDowell believes his decision to switch equipment manufacturers has been vindicated after setting a course record-equalling 62 in the final round of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions on Sunday.
The Northern Irishman moved from Callaway to Srixon in the off-season despite having had considerable success with his golf equipment in 2010.
He admits that his decision was always going to lead to “questions” but believes these have been answered following his performance in Hawaii, where he finished in third.
“It’s great to come here and perform the way I have and show people that all I’ve done is move from one great golf company to another great golf company,” McDowell commented.
“I believe Srixon have the equipment to help me continue to win golf tournaments.”
The world number five missed out on a place in a playoff at the Plantation Course by a single stroke after a comparatively pedestrian first three days.
This left Jonathan Byrd and Robert Garrigus to battle it out for the title, with Byrd triumphing at the second extra hole.
Last year saw McDowell break his major championship duck at the US Open in June and play a pivotal role in Europe’s win over the US in the Ryder Cup.
McDowell bucks Kapalua first-timer trend
Jan 10th
KAPALUA, Hawaii–First-time players often struggle in the PGA Tour’s season-opening event at the Kapalua Resort but U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell has flourished this week.
Despite launching his 2011 campaign with new clubs in his bag, the Northern Irishman will go into Sunday’s final round of the Tournament of Champions in a tie for sixth, just six shots off the lead. “All in all, I’m very happy the way I’ve played this week coming out here with some new stuff in the bag,” McDowell told Reuters after carding a five-under-par 68 in tricky winds on Saturday.
“I was just anxious to come here for the first time and see what was going on really. I’ve struck the ball very well, especially my iron play.” McDowell, who has switched his golf club manufacturer from Callaway to Srixon, felt the large greens on Kapalua’s Plantation Course posed the biggest problem for first-time players.
“These greens will definitely leave you scratching your head a few times,” he said after taking 29 putts on Saturday. “A lot of first-timers can kind of go: ‘This is a bit weird this place.’ It just takes a bit of knowing.
“I can see why guys continue to play well here, guys who have played well in the past — the (Stuart) Applebys, the (Jim) Furyks and the (Geoff) Ogilvys.
“Once you get your head around the slopes, the grain and the tendencies of this golf course, I can understand that you can continue to come back and play well here.”
Back-Nine Frustration
McDowell’s one frustration over the last two days has been his failure to shoot lower scores on the back nine.
McDowell ended last year with a hectic flourish, criss-crossing several time zones as he played seven tournaments in as many weeks — the last of them the Chevron World Challenge where he beat host Tiger Woods in a playoff.
He will next play in the European Tour’s Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in two weeks’ time before taking a month off to recharge his batteries.
Old and new on McDowell’s agenda
Jan 5th
Old and new on McDowell’s agenda for opener MARK LAMPORT-STOKES – Reuters
US Open champion Graeme McDowell will embrace something old and something new when he launches his 2011 campaign at this week’s Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.
A four-times winner last year after producing sizzling form on both sides of the Atlantic, McDowell has decided to maintain a similarly hectic playing schedule this season while switching his golf club manufacturer from Callaway to Srixon.
Sticking to the same formula which helped the Briton clinch his maiden major title in the US Open at Pebble Beach makes sound sense but changing clubs has often been a risky move for players.
“I’m sure people are scratching their heads,” McDowell told reporters at the picturesque Kapalua Resort on Tuesday about his decision to switch to new equipment.
“But sometimes things come to end and I feel really good about the start of a new era with some fresh energy coming at me from some new guys.
“The golf ball is probably one of the things that attracted me the most, the Srixon ball is pretty impressive. I was messing around with it at the end of last season and I realised it was a golf ball I could get to the next level with.”
Asked what that next level could be after a golden 2010 that featured his major breakthrough and the joy of securing the winning Ryder Cup point for Europe, McDowell replied: “I’m fifth in the world, which is personally very satisfying.
“I’m not a guy who pays a lot of attention to the rankings, but I realise that my world ranking right now is very much based on my last seven months’ performance.
“I have a lot of things I want to achieve in this game. I’m in a period now where I want to maintain this world ranking and prove that I’m a world-class player.”
McDowell ended last year with a hectic flourish, criss-crossing several time zones as he played seven tournaments in as many weeks – the last of them the Chevron World Challenge where he beat host Tiger Woods in a playoff.
“Seven weeks on the spin and 32,000 air miles is not conducive for staying physically and mentally fresh during the season,” the Northern Irishman said while preparing for the opening event on the 2011 PGA Tour at the Kapalua Resort.
“Obviously it was a great way to end the year and I was very proud of myself that I could finish as strongly as I did. It was a pretty hectic travelling schedule.
“My schedule this year is not massively changed. I’m going to add a couple more events here (in the US). Apart from that, I’m playing a very similar type schedule … playing golf courses and golf tournaments that I do know.”
McDowell, who will play most of his golf on the PGA Tour this year, sounded one note of caution about his schedule.
“I’m going to have a good sit-down … make sure I pace myself and make sure I don’t get into a situation where I play too much golf,” the 31-year-old said.
“There are certainly a lot of opportunities around the world nowadays to go and play golf, and you’ve got to keep it quality rather than quantity.”
Graeme McDowell no longer flying under golf’s radar
Jan 4th
Please select…. Baseball Tickets NBA Tickets NFL Tickets NASCAR Tickets WWE Tickets Golf Tickets Tennis Tickets 
Enlarge By David Cannon, Getty Images Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland will be among the headliners this week at the PGA Tour’s season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii.
The Ulsterman begins his 2011 season Thursday in the PGA Tour’s season-opening, winners-only Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii, as the No. 5 player in the world — the highest ranking of his career.
His status as a hero over the pond remains intact after he cemented Europe’s win in the Ryder Cup by making the biggest putt of his life on the 16th hole in the decisive singles match.
He’s the reigning U.S. Open champion.
And later this year he has a date at Buckingham Palace with Queen Elizabeth II after becoming a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year’s honors list.
“I’ll be in the top hat and tails and the whole shebang,” McDowell said in a phone interview from Hawaii. “It’s such a great honor. You can’t really quantify anything like that. It’s just tough to get the head around all of what it really means. I will definitely look at 2010 as a season I will cherish all my life.”
Don’t think for a minute, however, that McDowell will rest on his laurels. He knows he’s his own tough act to follow after his heroics in the Ryder Cup, winning the U.S. Open and two European Tour events, and denying Tiger Woods a victory in 2010 by beating the former No. 1 in December in a playoff for the Chevron World Challenge title.
“I know last year was the stuff of dreams and I know it’s a pretty tough season to replicate, but I’m in a position now where I want to prove I’m a world-class player,” McDowell, 31, said. “I’m very driven to maintain my world ranking and driven to the challenge of being one of the best players in the world. There are no expectations. You just have to keep doing it, keep on the process, and keep giving your chance to compete every week.
“And I’ve got so much to pull on from 2010, so much confidence and belief to take out of the year. I realize golf is a very fickle sport and you can’t expect anything from this game. And the second you do expect something from this game it will turn around and punch you in the face.
“So I’m very realistic about my game. I know how much improving I can do, and that makes me excited about embarking on a new season.”
Part of McDowell’s challenge to remain in the upper echelon of the game’s best players is finding enough down time. In the last 12 weeks, his itinerary has included stops in Spain, Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Los Angles, Orlando, his native land of Northern Ireland and now Hawaii — about 40,000 miles up in the air. His second start of the season will be in Abu Dhabi in three weeks. After that, he’ll spend three weeks in Orlando with his feet up while he recharges his batteries and figures out his schedule.
“That’s really going to be my official break and then I’ll start my year for real,” McDowell said. “In an ideal world I wouldn’t be here in Hawaii, but this is an event I’ve always wanted to come and play.
“I know it’s going to be an extremely busy year again, but I’m going to have a good sit-down with my schedule and make sure I don’t play too much golf. I want to make sure I give it my best to make sure people don’t think 2010 was a fluke.”
Posted E-mail | Save | Print | To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.
Pond Scum: Season openers, emerging players and McDowell’s club swap
Jan 4th
This will come as a shock to some younger readers. Despite what many have come to believe, golf was not invented by Tiger Woods, circa 1996.
Forget the particular year. You whiffed by several centuries.
Just to be clear, Woods often chased skirts when he wasn’t whacking a little white ball. The ancient Scots, however, often wore kilts while chasing the ball around.
There endeth the history lesson and sermon.
In case you also missed, or flatly ignored, another big development in the game of late, the global tide has greatly begun shifting to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, where a legion of players has stormed the top of the world rankings, begun racking up majors, hoisting the Ryder Cup and building a progressively better product with the European Tour.
All told, that’s why it’s the perfect time to find somebody who speaks Irish, Scottish and a smattering of old-fashioned English to help put the game into better context. No other general-sports website in the States has a European Tour expert on board, and veteran scribe John Huggan, who once played for the Scottish junior national team with Colin Montgomerie, has written several books and has covered the blossoming foreign circuit for years.
Each week, from both sides of the Pond, this twosome will kick at corpses and hornet’s nests, tip over a few sacred cows, poke and prod, plus generally debate and debase each other on the topics of the day.
According to golf lore, James II banned the game in Scotland in 1457, because he felt it interfered with the learning of archery. Not to worry, because these two trans-continental curmudgeons have a quiver full of arrows and they’re ready to shoot. Maybe even at one another.
There’s still snow on the ground in Scotland, yet the PGA Tour season is beginning this week in Hawaii. Apparently, some stars got snowed in somewhere, because Mickelson and Woods are again missing, and only one major winner from 2010 is entered. How would you guys spice up this lid-lifter, or is a sleepy start in the islands a good thing?
Huggan: One good thing about Hawaii is the golf course. Any time you can get a Coore-Crenshaw design on tour it has to be a pleasant change from the usual snoozers we see over the rest of the season.
Elling: Kapalua gives guys a chance to chip away the rust. The fairways are wide enough to land a jet plane on them. Although, apparently, not the jets belonging to Mickelson and Woods. What would happen if the tour made playing in the winner’s-only opener mandatory? So, when you win a tournament the previous year, as a part of receiving and accepting a two-year exemption, you have to play in the Tournament of Champions? We both know the “independent contractor” thing is a myth, anyway.
Huggan: Get a grip. When has Finchem ever been able to tell his stars what to do? We all know that Tiger and Phil do whatever they want, whenever they want. If wee Timmy tried to exert any pressure on them they’d just ship to Europe. Which might make them better players actually.
Elling: Well, they are shipping to Europe. Both are playing in the E-Tour’s Desert Swing to start the seasons, which only makes their absence from the PGA Tour’s season opener all the more obvious. Have appearance fee, will travel?
Huggan: America just has to face the fact that the place to be until at least the middle of February is the European Tour. After that through the Masters the U.S. is king again.
Elling: I have no problem with the notion of appearance fees. The purses in Europe are lower. They need to draw the top guns. The point being, if the PGA Tour’s season opener was any more sleep-inducing, they’d need to give hammocks to the 1,000 fans that are actually in attendance. Maybe Mark Rolfing of NBC Sports has it right. Open field to guys who have won over past two years. More warm bodies that way. Then, maybe Hawaii is the right locale for the opener. It’s a sleepy start. The whales are cavorting in the Pacific. Sharks like Tiger and Phil stay home. Everybody in the States gets to watch the palm trees swaying in prime time. No stress, no strain … little drama?
Huggan: Open it up to European Tour winners! What a concept, eh? Cooperation between tours.
Elling: Heck, make it a semi-official world tour. Call it another WGC event. Oh, wait, the HSBC Champions already did that, and the U.S. tour doesn’t fully recognize it as a real tournament and not every eligible player shows up for that, either.
Huggan: s it just me, or does all this tour self-interest do nothing to promote the game in a wider sense? Europe is just as bad as the U.S. in that respect. Look at the way they have treated the Asian Tour over the years. What has to be acknowledged is how much more interesting the ET is at the moment. Look at all the young stars they have. Apart from Fowler, I don’t see much of the same in the U.S.
Elling: Dustin Johnson is 26. Had he not found ways to lose the U.S. Open and PGA Championship, he would have been the PGA Tour player of the year. He’s pretty young. Anthony Kim is the same age, though he doesn’t act it.
Huggan: Okay, I’ll give you Johnson. Once he has the brain transplant. Kim is too busy partying to ever be a consistent contender. One guy to watch out for on the PGA Tour this year is Sough Africa’s Charl Schwartzel. He looks even better than his mate Oosthuizen — and we all know what he did last year.
Nice transition. Each of you, pick a player you see emerging this year on the world stage and elaborate on the reasons why.
Srixon signs Graeme McDowell
Jan 4th
Srixon signs Graeme McDowell
- Tuesday, 4 January 2011
- Michael Weston
- 0 Comments
Srixon player Graeme McDowell
Srixon Sports has announced that 2010 US Open champion and Ryder Cup hero Graeme McDowell has signed a multi-year contract to endorse its brand worldwide.
McDowell, who was made MBE in the New Year Honours List, will play Srixon irons, Cleveland wedges and the new Srixon Z-STAR XV ball, which will be officially launched at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando at the end of January.
The 31-year-old Ulsterman enjoyed a remarkable 2010 in which he became the first European to win the US Open for 40 years and he starred in Europe’s Ryder Cup victory over the the United States by holing the winning putt.
Golf Monthly’s columnist has risen to number seven in the World Rankings having defeated Tiger Woods at the season-ending Chevron World Challenge.
As part of the multi-year contract, G-Mac will also wear a Srixon hat and glove and carry a Srixon bag and will help develop both Srixon and Cleveland to a new generation of golfers around the world.
“I am really excited about my decision to join Srixon,” said McDowell. “There is a great energy amongst the team at Srixon regarding my signing with them and I am looking forward to feeding off this energy going into 2011.”
Where next?
Competitions: Win golf prizes
Reviews: Equipment reviews
