[caption id="attachment_67790" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Graeme McDowell."]
That putrid weekend of golf that Graeme McDowell issued just a week ago in Valderrama? Totally forgotten now; dustbin of history stuff.
McDowell wasted no time feeling sorry for himself, and made for China, where he finished third in the HSBC Champions at Sheshan International in Shanghai. Two opening rounds of 69 preceded weekend rounds of 67 that left McDowell four strokes behind medalist Martin Kaymer, and one behind Fredrik Jacobson for runner-up honors.
Rory McIlroy was a shot back in joint-fourth place, while Darren Clarke tied for 38th place and Michael Hoey shared 62nd place in this World Golf Championship event that saw 78 men tee off.
Ignoring three bogeys that he accumulated in the first 36 holes, McDowell had only one serious misstep, that a triple-bogey 6 at 17 in the first round. And that after he had birdied four of the five previous holes.
"Just tried to squeeze a 5-wood in there and just blocked it, straight in the hazards," McDowell said. "Had 30 feet, so tripled there."
But McDowell rebounded with bogey-free golf over the weekend that was overshadowed only by Kaymer, who started the final round five strokes behind Jacobson, and shot 63 (with seven birdies on the back nine) to win by three.
"Four very solid rounds of golf," McDowell said. "Much more the kind of golf I expect from myself. Great to bounce back from probably one of the worst weekends of my career. I've been very happy with the way I've played. And especially the way I putted, you know, I putted horrifically last week and putted much, much more solid this week."
McDowell credited a range session with swing coach Pete Cowen for his turnaround.
"[Pete] really got my control back a little bit," McDowell said. "Last week at Valderrama, I could not aim for the right side of the golf course because I couldn't rely on my draw and I couldn't aim at the left side of the golf course because I had no fade. So I had no shot in the bag.
"I haven't controlled the golf ball like I controlled it last year, and when I say control, I mean aiming at a target. I've been able to shape it off a target. That's what I did great last year and that's what I haven't done well this year. The range session I had with Pete on Tuesday reminded me a lot of the range sessions we had last year. There are reasons I haven't been able to do that this year and, for the first time on Tuesday, I really felt my old self come back a little bit again."
McIlroy, fresh off a playoff win in China the previous week, stalled on Sunday, missing putts that could have allowed him to put pressure on Kaymer. He birdied the first two holes and then went without, falling back to even-par for the round after bogeys at 11 and 14. He birdied three of the four finishing holes to attain his fourth-place status.
Clarke got off to a miserable start, shooting 73 and 76 in this no-cut tournament. But he turned things around over the weekend with a liberal dose of birdies to go with the bogeys he mustered. His scores totaled 67 and 69, adding up to 285 for the four rounds.
Hoey, in the first tournament that represents his spoils from winning the Alfred Dunhill in September, had trouble off the tee, especially over the weekend. And his putter misbehaved in the first round, when he used it 32 times. He fired rounds of 76, 70, 74 and 72 for an aggregate 292.
NATIONAL PRO GOLF TOUR
Chris Devlin tied for ninth place in this circuit's season grand finale at Dove Mountain in Marana, Ariz. The Ballymena man was only a stroke off the first-round lead after opening with 69, but consecutive 74s dropped him out of contention. He recovered somewhat in the final round to shoot 71 and finish the event at even-par 288. Tony Finau shot 275 for medal honors. Next up for Devlin is second-stage qualifying for the PGA Tour next week.
