GOLF:ALL YEAR, patience has been like a 15th club in the bag for Graeme McDowell. Yesterday, it betrayed him.
“It felt like my head was rolling down the ninth fairway,” said the Ulsterman of the frustration he felt midway through the second round of the Dubai World Championship here at The Earth course, as his dream of becoming Europe’s number one edged farther away.
On a beautifully sunny day, in temperatures touching 32 degrees, McDowell – cast in the role of pursuer to Germany’s Martin Kaymer for the Race to Dubai title – was like a man stubbornly trying to hold the desert sands in his grip, only for granules to pour freely through his fingers.
When the dust settled, his second round 73 for 145, one over, left him eight shots adrift of Kaymer and 10 shots behind leaders Ross Fisher and Ian Poulter.
An uphill climb? For sure. An impossible chase? Improbable, maybe, but not impossible. Yet, McDowell, a realist, was aware fate would have to start siding with him over the final two rounds.
“I’m actually hitting the ball pretty well, I just need to keep my head screwed on a little bit more and make a few putts. I’ve got to putt better. But a course like this frustrates the life out of me, I just can’t get my head around it.”
McDowell has already had a remarkable year in 2010, winning a breakthrough major in the US Open at Pebble Beach and holing the winning putt in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor.
In seeking to embellish the season’s haul by also taking the European Tour Order of Merit, he embarked on a global odyssey this past month which has seen him play in Spain, China, Singapore, Hong Kong and, finally, Dubai which put him within touching distance of US PGA champion Kaymer.
Yesterday, though, the player conceded this latest event may have been, as he put it, “a step too far”. McDowell’s fifth tournament in a five-week stretch has been lacking his usual vitality.
“I think the frustration levels I’ve been displaying is because I don’t have a lot left in the tank, I don’t have the energy to be patient with myself. I don’t have the energy to be digging deep. It’s okay when things are on a string, when you’re knocking down flags and making birdies, but when you’ve got to grind it is just not there,” he said.
So, was there a touch of negativity? Perhaps even a hint of conceding the race is run? Not just yet. As McDowell retorted to any suggestion the game was up: “It’s not over – (shooting) 65-65 is not out of the question . . . there’s nothing wrong with my game. I’m hitting a lot of quality looking shots, I just can’t seem to get any momentum going on this golf course. It’s a course that doesn’t gift you birdies, doesn’t gift you shots. I’ve got to go low over the weekend and I’m hitting enough good shots to do that.”
He added: “This game frustrates me on a regular basis, to be honest. (His caddie) Ken said he had never really seen me like that on a golf course, which wasn’t ideal. I was angry with myself and frustrated with myself. It’s the sign of a man who is not very mentally sharp at the minute. I was quick to lose the head, I had no patience with myself. But such is golf. I’m not going to complain. I’ve had an incredible year and I’m just going to pour every last ounce of energy I have (into the final two rounds).”
While G-Mac vowed to summon up a weekend fightback, Kaymer was upbeat about his own chances of topping the money list.
On being informed McDowell was 10 shots behind the leaders and eight behind him, the German remarked: “It will be tough to win for him . . . my priority is to win the golf tournament and if I win here, then nobody can catch me. That’s my goal. I wish Graeme that he does well. You know, he deserves to finish second in the Race to Dubai. He won a Major this year, had a great season. So, second is fine.”
It would appear Kaymer has already drawn a line in the sand. It’s left to McDowell to draw one of his own.
