Graeme McDowell stormed his way to a sizzling round of 66 all thanks to a rousing three hole stretch near the end of his round and then insisted he needs to get back into massaging his ego more often.
McDowell, competing in the Wyndham Championship for a first time, eagled the 15th and then birdied both the 16th and 17th holes, to end the second day sharing 11th place on six under par.
The Northern Irishman posted his score in between Si Woo Kim’s round of a 10-under par 60 that left him leading by two shots at 12-under par and moments before fellow US Open winner went within two feet of also shooting a 60 but missing his par putt in a round of 61 to be tied in second place with a third US Open winner in Jim Furyk (64) plus Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (64) and American Kevin Na (67).
McDowell’s opening 36-hole tally is the first occasion since last November’s RSM Classic he’s posted sub-70 scores and where he eventually finished T3rd and coming a week after his victory in the Mayakoba Classic where he commenced with scores of 67 and 63.
Graeme McDowell reckons after shooting a 66 he needs to start massaging his ego more often and picking PGA Tour stops where he can shoot 64s. (Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com)
His best 36-hole starting rounds in 2016 proper was in May in signing for rounds of 72 and 70 at the Players Championship.
And having been made aware of Kim’s round it prompted the following from McDowell.
“I can see how Kim would have shot a 60 but then I would not have said the golf course has been set-up super easy as it looks an easier set-up tomorrow judging by the pin placements,” he said.
“Given my situation, I am very happy I made the decision to come an play here in Greensboro and it’s just nice to play a golf course where you can make some birdies.
“Kenny (Comboy – caddy) and I have been talking about scheduling and we tend, and because we play both sides of the Atlantic, we are choosing tournaments around the WGCs and the Majors like you Bay Hill’s and your Wentworth’s.
G Mac autographs a cap for a volunteer walking scorer.
“I tend to leave out the easier golf courses on my schedule but then I don’t shoot enough 64s these days.
“When I look back, and when I was a bit younger, I played more easier events and scores of 64 were of more regular on my schedule but I have gotten into playing too many events like Bay Hill, Honda Classic and Augusta, and they do beat you up and spit you out.
“So a 64 is something that I used to shoot, and in no disrespect, when I played easier events so it’s been nice this week to come to a par 70 golf course where you hit the fairway and you feel as though you have birdie chances everywhere.
“We play too many golf courses nowadays where they are just a slog, just a grind and it’s tough. So we are going to start adjusting schedules going forward to give ourselves some more opportunities to play some feel good golf, and to kind of massage the ego to get a bit more confidence.
“So I do feel as though I have gotten out of the habit of shooting 64s and I need to get back into that habit again.
“And even though it is a par 70 golf course, to stand here having shot a 66 is nice and it’s good for the confidence heading into the weekend.”
While McDowell shot a round of 63 last year to capture ‘Mexico’s Major’, the last occasion he shot a round of 64 on the PGA Tour was the first week of November 2013 and on day three of the WGC – HSBC Champions event in Shanghai.
