McDowell has what it takes, says Crenshaw

TWO-TIME Masters champion Ben Crenshaw paid Graeme McDowell a glowing tribute at Augusta yesterday, stressing that he has “loads of talent and a beautiful rhythm.”

Sadly, it still didn’t prevent the Portrush man from missing the halfway cut by a single shot, a fate that also befell Pádraig Harrington.

It was little wonder that Harrington should have been down in the dumps on Saturday. It was the second time in three years he failed to make it into the week-end at Augusta. For rookie McDowell, there was at least the satisfaction that he had learned from his trials and tribulations of the first round when he shot 79 and looked to have little hope of making the cut. Instead, he fought back with a splendid 70 and a total of five over 149.

Harrington blamed a cold putter and a recurrence of an old neck injury that he picked up on the range on Saturday for much of his troubles as he shot a disappointing 77.

“I don’t think I’ve taken that many putts (35) in a round in a long time”, he groaned. “A sore neck didn’t help my driving and I made bogey off my four best iron shots. That’s the sort of day it was. I hurt my neck on the range before I went out and that made it a bit of a struggle with the driver. There were too many three putts and missed putts. I am taking two weeks off and won’t go to the Houston Open.

“This is tough course when you get going in the wrong direction. I didn’t feel like I putted badly but left myself in awkward places.”

McDowell really looked unhappy at missing by one, rightly claiming he played good golf in the last 26 holes. “It took me a little time to tune into the speed of these greens. I’m striking the ball well, but four three putts in the first 10 holes (in round one) got me behind the eight-ball early on. I really wanted to play another two rounds, to learn a little more. It was so much fun to play. I’ve been working on my golf swing and I just feel it’s coming the way I want it.

“This course asks you questions on every hole, you just don’t get anything straight forward. I’ve got a lot to learn about playing golf in these kind of conditions. On Thursday, I felt like the pins were in Sunday pin positions. It was daunting.”

The 25 year-old is a forthright individual who admits he still has plenty to learn - nor is he afraid to go out and solicit advice from the right people! As it happened one of the best putters in the business was his playing partner for the two rounds.

“I had a good chat with Ben Crenshaw about putting on these greens”, he revealed. “I have to improve in that respect. I hit my fairways and greens but I just didn’t have confidence around the greens. Just watching Ben putt is an education. He gave me a few small things to work on. The first 10 holes dented my pride, but I felt I moved on pretty quick from that and re-established my confidence. I feel like I’ve had an education. I played with eight or nine Masters champions during the week. It was a lot of fun, just talking, listening and learning.

“I know what I need to do to win the tournament now. I’ll work on the shots that I need to fill my repertoire.”

Crenshaw was hugely impressed with McDowell: “What a load of talent he has. He struggled with his putting a bit so I had a word with him. Graeme’s physically very strong with great leg movement. He has that ability to hit it high and strong and has a beautiful rhythm. I just told him that it is hard to believe some of the putts you have to hit, to know the pace and line. Some look sneaky quick and some sneaky slow, and they are actually the other way.”