McDowell sets sights on Masters

TOUR NEWS:SOME THINGS are worth the inconvenience, especially as far as Graeme McDowell is concerned as he resets his targets in light of his third European Tour title career win, in the Ballantines championship in Korea.

The 28-year-old Ulsterman's play-off win over Jeev Milkha Singh on Sunday meant he missed his scheduled flights to the US - where he has qualified for this week's $8-million WGC-CA Championship in Doral, Florida - but that was a minor nuisance as his rich vein of form has put even more appetising prospects within reach.

McDowell has moved to 59th in the world rankings, giving him a real shot at earning a late invitation to play in next month's US Masters at Augusta National on April 10th-13th.

For that to happen, he needs to break into the world's top 50 the week ahead of the season's first major; and, with just 0.24 of a point separating him from England's Nick Dougherty, who occupies 50th position, McDowell has a fighting chance of making up the ground.

In that respect, McDowell's inclusion in this week's CA Championship - where Tiger Woods, the defending champion, will be seeking to continue his remarkable run of success (his dramatic win in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill on Sunday gave the world's number one a strike rate of three wins from three tournaments on the US Tour so far this season) - is a massive boost, with no cut and huge world ranking points on offer.

McDowell, who has moved to third on the European Tour money list, worked as a commentator for radio and television during the Ryder Cup at the K Club in 2006 and has set making the team for Valhalla as one of his season's goals.

On that front, he has also made significant progress, moving to ninth on the world points list and fourth (with the three players ahead of him currently qualified off the world list) on the European points list.

The Ulsterman started the year ranked 108th in the world, and his upward graph is an indication the changes he put in place toward the end of last season (including embarking on a new fitness regime, securing a new club deal with Callaway and moving to the Dublin-based agency Horizon Sports Management) have had the desired effect.

"I took most of August off last year and I really was targeting the start of the points," said McDowell. "I wanted to see my name up there (on leader boards) and to give me something to motivate me and work hard.

"I wanted to come out and get some consistency in my game and give myself a chance to win as often as possible."

He need look no further than one man to learn the art of winning, for Woods - who notched up his fifth successive win on the US Tour when capturing the Bay Hill on Sunday, and his seventh in a row worldwide when also including the Target World Challenge (an unofficial tournament on the PGA Tour at the tail-end of last season) and the Dubai Desert Classic (on the PGA European Tour last month) - is the player who continues to set the benchmark for everyone. Woods's appetite for wins is insatiable.

"It's why you work all those tireless hours," said the world number one. "It's why you get up at 0-dong-30 and log your miles, bust your tail in the gym . . . the reason why is to be in that position right there to fail or succeed, but to be in that position time and time again. That's the rush, to be in that position."

So far, Woods is enjoying a perfect season; and, having come from seven shots off the pace at halfway to win on Sunday, he heads into this week's CA Championship (which will be his last appearance before the Masters) with an aura of invincibility.

The fact he has won the CA Championship (formerly the AmEx) six times simply adds to the belief that, at this moment in time, he is close to unstoppable.

Each win, each milestone this season, is all aimed towards being right for the Masters.

"I have to keep working and keep progressing and keep working on my game and make sure everything is peaking toward Augusta," said Woods, after his 72nd-hole birdie putt, from all of 24 feet, gave him a one-stroke win over Bart Bryant at Bay Hill.

Woods holds all three WGC trophies (the CA, the Bridgestone Invitational and the Accenture match play) and is seeking to continue his dominance at Doral this week, where there is a limited, no-cut field of 79 players.

Pádraig Harrington, who has slipped to 11th in the latest world rankings, has decided to bypass the tournament, instead resuming tournament play at next week's New Orleans Classic in a run-up to the Masters that also takes in the following week's Houston Open.

McDowell is just one of a number of players in the field hoping to use the tournament to claim a late invitation to the Masters. Scotland's Colin Montgomerie, down to 66th in the world, is also playing in the CA with the hope of forcing his way into the Masters field.