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McDowell hoping to get a good run in this time

GOLF: FOR A player who has excelled in team matchplay events throughout his career, world number four Graeme McDowell is determined…

BRIAN KEOGH in Tucson
Tue Feb 22 2011 - 00:00

GOLF:FOR A player who has excelled in team matchplay events throughout his career, world number four Graeme McDowell is determined to improve his dismal WGC-Accenture Matchpay record in the desert this week.

Between the Walker Cup, the Seve Trophy and the Ryder Cup, the Rathmore man has lost just six of his 21 confrontations. Yet in the World Golf Championship event between the game’s top-64 players, the hero of Europe’s win at Celtic Manor last September has managed to avoid a first-round exit just once in four attempts.

That came on his debut at La Costa in 2005, when he beat Darren Clarke in the first round before going out to Robert Allenby the following day. But since then the 31-year-old has been forced to pack his bags far too early.

In 2006, at La Costa, Vijay Singh thumped him 5 and 4, and the Ulsterman’s drought continued when he returned to play in Tucson in 2009 and last year, racking up opening-day defeats to Zach Johnson and Luke Donald respectively.

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Things have changed utterly in McDowell’s world over the past 12 months, however, and refreshed following a four-week break, he’s feeling good about his chances of making a run at the title.

The key will be getting past debutant Heath Slocum in tomorrow’s first round and, if he can do that, McDowell reckons he will be able to draw on the momentum and confidence he built during his momentous 2010 campaign.

“I look back at the last two years and I’ve had my clubs in their flight bag at 12.30 on day one,” McDowell said before going out for a practice round with Rory McIlroy at the Ritz Carlton Golf Club. “You start to think that this is the worst event in the world, but I have actually played pretty well the last couple of years and shot the equivalent of 67s and just gone home.

“That’s the nature of the beast. You run into a guy who plays great and you have got to try and play better than him.”

Third-place finishes in the PGA Tour’s Tournament of Champions and the European Tour’s Abu Dhabi Championship already this year suggest McDowell has lost none of his magical 2010 form.

“I am back here this week feeling refreshed and recharged and ready to go,” he said. “If you can get a couple of matches under your belt, all of a sudden you gain a bit of confidence and a bit of momentum and suddenly you are in the weekend with a great chance to win a big event.”