While heavy rain stalled Graeme McDowell’s RBC Heritage Classic defence aspirations his quest to qualify for this year’s Ryder Cup team remains completely buoyant.
With one Major Championship already done and dusted this season, McDowell arrived in Hilton Head lying 14th overall and five places outside of automatically qualifying for Paul McGinley’s European Team.
Also while two of his Medinah winning teammates in Lee Westwood and Luke Donald put themselves into contention to win this week, McDowell is not about to hit the Gleneagles panic button.
Westwood is four shots clear heading to the third round of the Maybank Malaysian Open while Donald was in the Hilton Head clubhouse just three shots from the lead, and in an event where he had finished runner-up twice before and was third a year ago to McDowell
Matt Kuchar, and Graeme McDowell’s likely rival at this year’s Ryder Cup, shelters from the rain during the second round of the RBC Heritage Classic. (Photo – www.pgatour.com)
“Of course, I want be a member of Paul’s team but I will worry about it when the times comes,” he said after picking up two birdies to move inside the top-10 after six holes.
“I would be fairly worried about it come August, but you really can’t worry about it right now and it’s going to be one of things that is going to happen as a result of processes.
“I know if I play the kind of golf I want to play, and I know I am capable of playing then I will get onto the team.
“I am already there or thereabouts but then I am under no illusions I will need 100 World Ranking points between now and the end of August.
Graeme McDowell and his caddy being taken back to the clubhouse with rain halting play at Hilton Head.
“That translates into a Major Championship win or two other wins, so I’m going to need some solid results.”
And after his Augusta anguish, where McDowell missed the halfway cut for a fifth occasion in seven Augusta appearances, he’s already looking ahead to his ‘best two chances’ of performing well this year, and commenting just as 2008 Ryder Cup captain Nick Faldo was walking past inn the Harbor Town Golf Links clubhouse.
“My two best chances of winning another Major Championship are now coming up in the US Open and the British Open,” he said.
“When I set my schedule at the start of the year, and the 25 weeks I will play Augusta doesn’t factor into my top 15 best chances of performing well. It just doesn’t.
“I hit to be a firm, fast week when I can putt the lights out like Nick Faldo (walking past at the time).
“Maybe Nick Faldo can tell me one day how to play well in the Masters. He’s never offered it up, so far.”
Faldo smiling in responding: “One only has to ask. There is no point making assumptions. My door is always open if you want to learn my wisdom.”
The rain forced play to be stopped at 2.54pm local time and then at 4.30pm officials abandoned play for the day with a restart to the round at 8am Saturday local time.
Korea’s K.J. Choi (67) held the clubhouse lead while the immediate past and current USA Ryder Cup captains Davis Love 111 (70 & 80) and Tom Watson (75 & 73) to miss the cut.
