McDowell seeks to crunch the numbers

EVEN though he arrived in Bethpage after a sparkling final round of 63 in the St Jude Classic in Memphis on Sunday, Graeme McDowell isn’t approaching his fourth appearance at the US Open in confident mood.

The 29 year-old from Portrush admits that “apart from a 17th at Augusta and a 13th at Wentworth, I hadn’t a lot to show for myself before last Sunday”, and is frustrated 2009 hasn’t lived up to the previous season when he captured the Ballantynes Championship in Korea followed by the valuable Barclays Open at Loch Lomond.

“I’ve been doing all the right things and working hard and getting close, close, close but numbers are everything.