Twelve months ago, Graeme McDowell took a very calculated gamble.
The gamble was to withdraw from qualifying for the 2010 U.S. Open and bank on the fact he would remain inside the top-50 of the World Rankings at the close of the BMW PGA Championship.
Graeme McDowell attends the BMW PGA Media Centre.
McDowell arrived at Tour HQ lying right on the bubble and in 50th place on the rankings.
The gamble paid off when McDowell finished T28th behind England’s Simon Khan to move up one place to 49th in the rankings.
McDowell was thus assured a tee time at Pebble Beach.
He then took a week off from competition before returning to shoot weekend rounds of 63 and 64 to win the Celtic Manor Wales Open by three strokes.
Buoyed by his success, McDowll then took a week off before travelling to the West Coast of America and the Pacific Ocean washed shoreline at Pebble Beach for a fifth appearance in the U.S. Open.
Then with scores of 71, 68, 71 and 74 McDowell brilliantly became the first European in 30-years to capture the U.S. Open championship.
It was unquestionably the greatest two weeks in the life of the Portrush player.
This week McDowell will walk onto the first tee at Wentworth ranked a lofty No. 5 in the world but still looking to get his game to the level it was 12 months earlier.
“I’ve got a great summer ahead, and when I won in Wales last year, I said I hope I can have a big summer and I feel I can have a big summer, and that’s where I’m at right now,” he said on the eve of the BMW PGA Championship.
“When I won Wales my ball striking was 10 out of 10, and that’s probably as good as I’ve ever played.
“Pebble was probably a nine-and-a-half out of 10 but then New Orleans a few weeks ago was about .5 out of 10.
“Burt the good thing is that I’m back to playing seven or eight out of 10 but really happy with my game as last week at the Match-Play I turned a big corner.”
McDowell and Rory McIlroy are among 11 Irish vying for this week’s Euro 750,000 first prize cheque.
McDowell leads out the Irish at 8am and just ahead of the group featuring McIlroy and Darren Clarke.
And the Irish will be looking to end a 53-year winless drought in the event and also on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Seve Ballesteros’ 1981 success at Wentworth.
