Graeme McDowell eyes a return in form after a strong start at Abu Dhabi
Grizzled Irishman Graeme McDowell is finally seeing a comeback in form after a strong start of the current season.
Finishing for a joint third at Abu Dhabi, McDowell is now hoping to gain momentum with his newly found form and vows to carry on with the fight.
McDowell won the 2010 US Open after a thrilling victory at the Wales Open just a week ago.
He went over to guide the European Team to another stellar victory at the Ryder Cup, at Celtic Manor, in October, which he considers as the single most important event in his life.
Making the turn for the 2011, McDowell hoped to continue with his blistering sport but somehow, failed to carry on with the impression.
He posted a brilliant start at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii in 2011 with a final round of 62, finishing just behind the leader.
Soon afterwards, he witnessed a sharp decline in his performance bar, falling out of the top-10 on the official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).
Disappointed by his poor form, McDowell now agrees that he further deteriorated his form in attempts to try harder to regain momentum.
He said, “Most of it was me thinking badly as opposed to playing badly. I was questioning things when there was no need to. To play my best golf, I need my patience level to be high and my expectation level to be low. Last year, I was exactly the opposite. My expectations were high, and my patience was low. It was a recipe for disaster”.
He finally made the turn at USPGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club, and posted another strong finish at Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
He added, “[S]omething happened at the USPGA. I removed a 100 kg barbell from my shoulders and started to get going again”.
He pulled in another joint third at WGC-HSBC Champions and started off 2012 with a joint third in Abu Dhabi.
He has suffered a momentary fall of joint 59th at last week’s Commercialbank Qatar Masters but still hopes to get along with the rest of the season brimming with confidence.
McDowell is currently poised at number 11 on the OWGR after a fall from a high of number five earlier in 2011. He is ranked 15th on the current Race to Dubai points table.
McDowell turned professional in the year 2002 after performing well in the amateur circuit. He spent most of his time in the US playing as an amateur and was also ranked top collegiate golfer in 2002.
Affiliated with University of Alabama, McDowell represented Northern Ireland all over the world as an amateur and was also part of the winning Walker Cup team in 2001.
His first professional victory came in the year 2002 when he won the Volvo Scandinavian Masters, taking over the heavyweight Trevor Immelman by one stroke.
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