Palm Harbor, FL …
Graeme McDowell has an easy answer if he doesn’t qualify for next fortnight’s WGC – Dell Match Play Championship: “I’ll go and play in Puerto Rico!”.
McDowell is under increasing pressure heading into this week’s Valspar Championship to jump the 23 spots and get himself back inside the top-64 on the World Rankings if he’s to qualify for the March 22nd starting event in Austin, Texas.
Cut off point for the Match-Play is this Sunday night.
The current World No. 87 was last inside the top-64 a week short of a year ago at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Graeme McDowell happy to compete in Puerto Rico should he not qualify later this week for the WGC – Dell Match-Play Championship. (Photo – European Tour)
And while McDowell failed to qualify for last week’s WGC – Mexico Championship he’s not about to lose sleep if he doesn’t compete in the Texas capital.
“I am not going to beat myself up if I don’t qualify for the Match-Play and while I would love to be going to Austin, and I am a good match-player and I have a good match-play record, I will go play in Puerto Rico,” he said.
“The Match-Play is a hell of an opportunity to have a big week only beating a few guys whereas week-in and week-out you have to beat 150 guys.
“Of course, I want to be in the Match-Play but then I like the way I am trending and the big words for me right now are being patient and continue to be patient.
“If it doesn’t happen this week we will get ready for next week, and if it doesn’t happen next week then I will go play in Puerto Rico.”
McDowell is contesting the $US 6.3m event for just a second year running but missing the cut on debut a year ago.
He played a practice round Sunday in the company of Ian Poutler who chartered a ‘chopper’ for the pair to take the 25-minute flight from their Lake Nona residences in Orlando to this week’s course at Palm Harbor (NO u) just north of Tampa.
Normally, the drive along the ultra-busy Interstate I-4 would take some 90 minutes each way.
“I played here at Innisbrook last year missing the cut by just one shot,” he said.
“It was just one of those courses that I put straight back on the radar again as it can get windy, you have to drive it well and it’s just a mean type of golf course similar to PGA National.
“So there is a few intimidating shots.”
This week’s Copperhead course features the famed ‘Snake Pit’ – the combination of the par four 16th, par three, 17th and par four final hole.
But compared to last fortnight’s PGA National host venue, McDowell reckons the ‘Bear Trap’ at that course is more fearsome than any bite from the ‘Snake Pit’.
“The Bear Trap is much more intimidating and while the 16th here at the Copperhead is a very good hole, the 17th is just a long par three and no real trouble while the 18th also does not present as much trouble.
“Whereas at the ‘Bear Trap’ you can make numbers and I think PGA National is very much like Carnoustie from the point of view that it’s not that aesthetically pleasing because PGA National hardly has a good-looking golf hole on it but man is it a good course.”
Joining McDowell in the event is fellow Irishman Seamus Power who is making his debut in the $US 6.3m tournament.
IRISH TEE TIMES (Irish time)
1.51pm Seamus Power, 5.35pm Graeme McDowell,
