GOLF:THINGS HAVEN'T gone according to plan for Graeme McDowell in the last month after the US Open champion missed his third cut in four starts at this week's Zurich Classic on the PGA Tour.
McDowell’s latest woes occurred at TPC Louisiana where he struggled to find form with rounds of 73, 75 to finish well down the field led by American Bubba Watson. After starting on the back nine the 31-year-old opened with a birdie, but a run of bogey, bogey, double bogey from the 13th derailed any hopes of making it into the weekend.
Despite rallying with birdies at the 16th and the second further bogeys came at the sixth and his final hole, the ninth. It all added up to a four-over 148 aggregate and 14 shots adrift of Watson’s 10-under lead at the halfway stage.
The left-hander, winner of Farmers Insurance Open in California in January, enjoyed three birdies and an eagle at the par-five 11th and dropped his only shot at the 18th in a second-round 68. He leads by one from fellow American Josh Teater (66) and by two from John Rollins (69) also of the US.
Luke Donald was best-placed of the European contingent after a 71 left the English golfer five under and just inside the top 10.
The week before the US Masters McDowell missed the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the beginning of April with rounds of 80, 73 before another early exit at Augusta after shooting 74, 73.
After a week off, McDowell returned to action on the PGA Tour at last week’s Heritage but finished a lowly-tied 61st, despite a promising start (68, 69, 74, 74).
McDowell plans to tee it up in the Players’ Championship at Sawgrass in a fortnight.
Elsewhere, Australian Brett Rumford holds a three-shot lead at the Ballantine’s Championship in Seoul after a blistering second round yesterday, but world number one Lee Westwood continues to struggle. Rumford, well off the pace with a 71 on day one, produced a 63, with five birdies on the opening nine and a strong finish marked by two more on the 17th and 18th. “I’m in a position now to be thinking about winning, that’s for sure,” Rumford said. “I think the difference between today and yesterday is just the wind out there. It was a lot calmer and a lot easier to control the ball coming into these very firm greens.”
Rumford’s was the best round of anybody by three shots, with that 66 managed by Soren Kjeldsen, who moved into a share of second place after also signing for a 71 for his opening round. He is level on seven under par with Miguel Angel Jimenez.
However, Westwood, who took over the world number one ranking last week, could only manage a 68 yesterday, still a considerable improvement on his opening 72. Westwood got off to a good start with an opening birdie, but gave the shot back on the third hole before back-to-back birdies on the fourth and fifth. There were also bogeys on the 13th and 16th. That leaves him in a six-way tie for 11th place.
Ireland’s Damien McGrane, the overnight leader on 66, could not reproduce his first-day heroics with three bogeys leaving him with a 72. That puts him into a three-way tie for fourth with Welshman Rhys Davies and England’s James Morrison on six under par for the tournament.
Richard Finch and Park Sang-hyan, who had been tied for second yesterday, also had par 72s to drop them back into a share of seventh place. Finch, however, recovered well having suffering a triple-bogey on the third and a double-bogey on the seventh, before recording five birdies on the back nine to salvage his round.
Paul McGinley was next best of the Irish contingent, tied in 18th place on three-under following his 70. Shane Lowry and Gareth Maybin were a shot further back after they too shot 70s while Michael Hoey also made the cut and is on one-over following a 74.
