A ninth hole double bogey did Graeme McDowell little favours on the final day of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

‘G Mac’ had managed to collect two birdies early in his round.  At  the fifth he holed an eight footer and then at the seventh hole McDowell drained a three foot putt that sent him to seven under par.

'G Mac' stumbles to a 72 on the final day of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

However the alligator infested TPC Louisiana course jumped up to bite the former U.S. Open champion at the par three, ninth hole.

McDowell found the water with his tee shot and then after finding the green with his third he two-putted from 30 yards for a double bogey five.

He managed to get one stroke back in holing a near eight foot putt for birdie at the par four 13th hole ahead of ending with a round of 72 to finish on five under par.

McDowell left the course some 20 minutes before overnight leader Justin Dufner was due to tee up and dropping 14 places on his third day starting position to be in a tie for 59th.

And when the tournament eventually ended McDowell found himselr in a share of 57th place to continue a superb PGA Tour season in not having missed a cut in his seven FedEx Cup counting events this year.

And of course, McDowell has capped his season to date with second place in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Florida.

McDowell now heads to Charlotte, North Carolina for a first time in six years to contest Thursday’s starting Wells Fargo Championship.

The Northern Irishman has only contested the event once before and that was in missing the cut in the 2006 event.

However he joins good friend Rory McIlroy in the field and with the fellow U.S. Open champion looking to make ammends for missing the cut last year in his Quail Hollow defence.  McIlroy also will be looking to pick up the pieces of a poor Masters showing.

Joining the Ulster pair will be England’s Lee Westwood and former long-time World No. 1 Tiger Woods, winner at Quail Hollow in 2007.