McDowell finally feeling at ease with Augusta

It has taken a while but Graeme McDowell will tee it up in the 2012 Masters tomorrow finally feeling comfortable at Augusta National.

The world number 15 from Portrush may have cracked the code to winning a major, as he did when landing the US Open at Pebble Beach in 2010.

When it comes to the unique characteristics and atmosphere of Augusta, however, it is only now, heading into his fifth Masters, that McDowell is beginning to feel at home after three missed cuts in this corner of Georgia.

He admitted: “The first couple of times you come here, your eyes are out on stalks because it is so amazing.

“You don’t want to be blasé about it now either and say it is ‘just the Masters’. But now there is more of a comfort level. I am comfortable in this environment. My game is in good shape, I’m not coming here searching for a swing. I’m comfortable I have the shots to go and play this course.”

McDowell, who will tee off tomorrow at 4.41pm Irish time alongside American Mark Wilson and 2010 Open winner Louis Oosthuizen, thought he had all the shots last year when he came to the Masters as US Open champion, only for his putter to desert him on Augusta’s lightning-quick greens.

“The first few times you come here, you are in awe of the place and you don’t play well for that reason. But last year my ball-striking was as good as it has ever been here. I hit a lot of green and a lot of quality shots. But I just putted like an idiot. I think I was third in greens through two rounds and missed the cut. So I know I can hit the ball around here. In and around the greens is what it is all about here and is where my focus is.”

McDowell has opted to skip the traditional par three contest here today.

“It’s not superstition,” he said, referring to par-three winners never having won that year’s Masters proper. “It’s just a preparation thing. I have had two long weeks and I am just trying to conserve my energy. If I am going to compete this weekend, you have got to have the reserve in the tank. It is going to be a mentally and physically demanding week if you are going to be in the mix.

“You have got to prepare for that.”

McDowell has been in good form at the start of the 2012 season, with three top-10 finishes, most recently at Bay Hill a fortnight ago behind Tiger Woods, as well as a tie for 13th in the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral. Last weekend, though, McDowell hit a speed bump at the Shell Houston Open, where a weekend run of 73-77 gave him a tied 63 finish and bucked the recent trend.

“It got a little spoiled by the weather. We were there for the right reasons but you just can’t do anything about the weather. That killed the event. I got some mud balls on Saturday afternoon, snap hooked a nine iron into the water on Saturday and that it was kind of ‘get me to Augusta, I’m ready to get out of here’. It didn’t end up the week’s preparation I had in mind.”