US AND EUROPEAN TOURS: THE GOLFING gremlins jumped up and bit Graeme McDowell in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera yesterday but the Ulsterman was looking at the positives of carding 19 birdies over four days rather than an untidy finish that cost him four shots over the last four holes.

After surging up the leaderboard thanks to a stunning third round 66 and then playing his first 14 holes in two-under par to caress a top-10 finish, the Portrush player sandwiched an unpalatable double bogey seven at the 17th between bogeys at the 15th and 18th.

Yet despite a closing round of two-over par 73 that left him in the middle of the pack on four-under par, McDowell was upbeat about his chances of getting a run in this week’s WGC Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona.

“It was a very disappointing finish. But up until that point it was a good weekend’s work and it’s all about getting ready for the matchplay next week,” McDowell said. “I played some really good stuff this weekend, I have just got to concentrate on the good stuff because there was plenty of it.”

Having made the cut on the limit, McDowell started the day tied for 25th place on six-under par after a brilliant, third-round 66 that could easily have been several shots better.

Starting on the back nine on Saturday, he made six birdies in an eight-hole stretch on Riviera’s fabled back nine before cruising home in level-par figures as his rustiness on the greens caught up with him.

Despite not putting brilliantly all week, McDowell played the kind of golf that will have caught the attention of Zach Johnson, his opponent in the first round of this week’s matchplay event in Tucson.

Driving the ball well off the tee, he consistently hit good irons shots and with a little more luck with the putter, he will be a fearsome opponent at Dove Mountain despite his untidy finish.

At the par-four 15th, he did the hard part when he splashed out to four feet from greenside sand only to miss the par putt and while he did well to save par from another bunker at the short 16th, he paid a high price for a couple of lapses in concentration at the 590-yard, par-five 17th.

Playing from a hanging lie in the rough, he bunkered his third shot from just 81 yards, hit an average sand shot to eight feet and then three-putted for a costly double bogey seven before almost knocking down his tee shot at the last.

“I hit a bit of a non-concentration shot at the 18th,” McDowell added, describing a drive that went just 218 yards. “I made a good up and down for bogey from six feet in the end. I never really got on top of the greens this week but I drove the ball very well and hit some very good irons.

“The short game needs a little bit of work but I am looking forward to next week. Obviously if you are going to win, all departments of your game have got to be in good shape and you have to make birdies and play aggressive golf.”

The importance of knocking off the rust and showing some early-season form was underlined by overnight leader Phil Mickelson, who extended his advantage over the field to five strokes when he rolled home a 37-foot eagle putt at the opening hole to move to 18-under par.

“Heading into Augusta, if we can look that far ahead, it’s important that I get competitive rounds, being in contention, having opportunities to win, hopefully winning,” said Mickelson, who sandwiched a 72 between rounds of 63 and 62 to dominate at Riviera.

“Having these rounds for some momentum heading into Augusta. It’s very difficult to win that big a tournament without that experience and without that confidence level.”

Always unpredictable, Mickelson turned his five-stroke lead into a two-stroke deficit on Steve Stricker with five holes to play.

The left-hander dropped shots at the second, third, seventh, 11th and 14th as Stricker got to five under par for his round – though he dropped a shot at the last – to lead by two shots from Mickelson and Fred Couples on 15-under par.

However, a birdie at 16 and that dropped shot by Stricker at the last brought him level with Stricker with two to play.

Luke Donald was the leading European after a final-round 68 left him on 12-under-par 272.