G-Mac set to renew rivalry with Mahan
Organisers of this week’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters have grouped McDowell and the visiting American, along with Race to Dubai front-runner, Branden Grace for the opening two rounds in the Qatar capital.
McDowell and Mahan have met twice before in competition since Celtic Manor — three months later in the opening event of the 2011 PGA Tour in Hawaii and last August at the WGC—Bridgestone Invitational.
Mahan remarked McDowell is a ‘‘great guy and hard to dislike’’ and with McDowell smiling in responding: “It’s obvious Hunter has tried to get to like me but failed horribly. We have become closer given the experience we went through together at Celtic Manor. I’m not best mates with Hunter, and it’s not as though we got out to dinner regularly, but I enjoy playing in his company and he’s a quality player who has a great attitude for the game.
“I’m sure he doesn’t hold what happened at the Ryder Cup against me and I certainly don’t hold anything against him. When we first met after the Ryder Cup I don’t think anything needed to be said. It was the hero and villain scenario and one of us had to be the villain. I just haven’t had the chance to talk to him about it but what I can say is it was a quality match and a lot of quality shots were played, and if he had of holed some key putts around the turn it would have made all the difference.”
Meanwhile Peter Lawrie has ‘retired’ the belly putter he put into his bag for his first two events of the new season having missed the cut in both the Joburg Open and last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship while Damien McGrane is in the verge of signing a deal with TaylorMade after packing new R-11 driver and RocketBallz 3-wood in his bag. McDowell, Lawrie and McGrane are among seven Irish vying for the €316,000 first prize and bidding to become the first Emerald Isle winner in the event’s 15-year history.
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