McDowell finishes with a flourish

EVERY sport has its ifs and buts and that’s why Graeme McDowell wasn’t crying too many tears at taking a quadruple bogey eight at the 17th at St Andrews on Saturday evening.

It hurt desperately at the time but after a few pints of Guinness in Laffertys Irish Bar the pain began to dissipate a little and there was a definite case of the 'what-might-have-beens' when

McDowell yesterday shot a back nine of 31 and a round of 67 to show just what he is capable of.

McDowell tied for 11th with a six under par total of 282. He earned 97,099 and departed for this week's Deutsche Bank TPC more convinced than ever that he has what it takes to take on the big boys and win.

There was no sign over his opening 11 holes yesterday that he was about to shoot the lights out over the closing seven. He pitched to six feet at 12 to get the show under way and was in from 40 feet ("my only big putt of the entire week") at the 13th. He made the essential four at the long 14th by chipping to six feet and then came two shots that provided the highlight of his week, a five iron to 20 feet at the 16th and a perfectly struck putt that never left the middle of the hole.

McDowell drove to the front of the first tee at the 18th from where he rolled a 40-yarder stone dead.

"I actually didn't realise how low I had shot on the back nine until I got in," he said. "I've been really happy with my performance apart from that eight at the 17th on Saturday. Without that, I'm back in the golf tournament. I love this golf course. I'm just waiting for the week when I have four solid rounds of golf and I know it's coming soon. I'm just optimistic in general and excited about the next couple of months. I'm heading in the right direction.

"When I took that eight, I knew I was close to figuring in the top 20 on the leaderboard and it hurt me. That 67 today has helped me to forget about it. You can't have ifs and buts, without that eight, who knows what would I have done today 67, maybe, maybe not. I'm just glad I was able to stay pretty positive in spite of what happened to me yesterday and come out and play well today.

"The 17th here is the most intimidating hole in golf, especially when the ground is fast and firm as it is now. The tee shot is no cup of tea and there's some serious hay around as well and we all know what the green is like."

McDowell laughed sheepishly when asked how he played the 17th, admitting: "I hit a very ropey two iron off the tee into the left semi and tried to punch a five iron up to the front of the green. I turned it over right towards the road bunker but somehow it lipped around the side and ended 20 feet away.

"A lot of justice was done there today. I felt like I had paid my penance there yesterday and I got away with one today."

He said there were no real "stand-out moments" for McDowell but he enthused: "I really had a good week. I really enjoyed myself. I really played well. I love this golf course and looking forward to future Opens here because I know I can win here. If I put this week against last year at Troon, it's as different as night and day, preparation-wise.

I feel very comfortable about coming here early and trying to dissect the golf course when it's quiet.

"There's a lot of distraction and hype that go with a major and it's nice to have your preparation done before you get sucked in."