User login
MCDOWELL HAS A YEAR TO FORGET
Graeme McDowell became the first Northern Irishmen to win the US Open in June 2010. With the win, his life changed for the better - he soon joined the PGA Tour, which had previously exempted him from playing in some of the the majors for the last five-years.
2010 also saw him make the final putt and help Europe to secure the Ryder Cup victory, with his 5 foot putt in the last match against Hunter Mahan finishing the tournament.
McDowell then won the Andalucía Valderrama Masters and came second in the Race to Dubai behind Martin Kaymer. McDowell also defeated Tiger Woods in the Chevron World Challenge in 2010, to end his year on a successful note.
In spite of having a good 2010, Graeme McDowell didn't enjoy such a good year in 2011. He has developed a certain trend, where for every good game he plays, he follows it up with a score that isn’t good even for a petty club championship. His average in tournaments is 68.7, but this magic sometimes leaves out the rounds of 74, 74, 81, 75, and his 7-over 77 at the British Open. This number made McDowell’s 2-under 68 in the first round of the tournament absolutely meaningless, and forced him out of the tournament.
Admittedly he was having sprained ankle treatment before some of the poorer rounds, but the whole season's inconsistencies can't be put down to that.
This problem of McDowell’s is very similar to Tiger Woods’ who had been doing pretty much the same thing in the last year. There has been a lot of speculation about why Graeme McDowell throws away some good tournament rounds, and the common answer is that it's because he becomes over confident, and too relaxed after he starts off on a good note. Whatever it is, it is a problem that needs to be addressed if he wants to win more trophies in the future.
He was appointed the Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2011 New Year Honours but if he doesn’t reform his losing streak he will suffer a fall in his ranking.