Ryder Cup memories firing up McDowell

THE atmosphere was never going to compare to last October’s Ryder Cup, but Graeme McDowell and Peter Hanson found Celtic Manor a happy hunting ground again yesterday.

Paired together for the opening round of the Saab Wales Open, the Swede fired a six-under-par 65 to tuck in just behind South African Keith Horne.

Defending champion McDowell, meanwhile, improved five shots on his start last year with a 67 that included a 30-foot eagle putt on the 15th — but “only” a par on the hole with which he is most associated.

“It’s a tough second shot past my statue there,” he joked about the 499-yard 16th, scene of the most important birdie he has ever made and probably will ever make.

“I hit it to about 20 feet and thought I made it, but I guess I’ve used all my magic up on that green.”

There was enough good stuff, though, to boost his belief that he will not need a 64-63 finish this time to head into his US Open title defence on the back of another win.

“It’s all simmering nicely. I need to get into the mix this weekend and get the old juices flowing again.”

As it was last year, this is McDowell’s final tune-up event for the second major of the season.

“I’ve definitely got three or four days of chilling out planned next week — maybe go and wear out a groove in my mum’s couch in Portrush.

“I’m going to fly to Orlando Thursday and Pete (coach Pete Cowen) is coming in Friday.”

Hanson also has a base at Lake Nona — “I can probably hit a seven-iron to his house,” he said — and like McDowell a year ago at Pebble Beach is relieved just to be playing in Washington in a fortnight.

The world’s top 50 on May 23 qualified and he was 50th by 0.01 ranking points over Australian Aaron Baddeley. McDowell made it the same way by 0.05 points in 2010.

Hanson had eight birdies to Horne’s seven, but there were also bogeys at the 13th and eighth on his card.

Horne, 289th in the world, did not turn professional until he was 25 and it was only last year that the Durban golfer, 40 next week, earned his full European Tour card.

Coming home in a five-under 30 put him top of the leaderboard, but he was at pains to stress that one of those shots was not a shank.

Bunkered off the tee at the driveable 15th he explained: “I had about 40 yards and I just couldn’t get a sand wedge or wedge at it to get it that far, so I hit a nine-iron and it just came out straight right.

“Didn’t work — but not a shank!”

Ross Fisher and Miguel Angel Jimenez are the other two members of last year’s European side taking part.

Fisher, who on Sunday week needs to be back in the world’s top 50 from his current 52nd if he is to play in the US Open, had a level-par 71, but Jimenez managed only a 73.

The Spaniard was paired with captain Colin Montgomerie, but four days after his first top-10 finish for almost three years the 47-year-old Scot was twice in the water and signed for a 77. England’s Steve Webster and Paul Broadhurst and Spain’s Alvaro Velasco came in late with 66s to share third place, leaving McDowell in a tie for sixth.