McDowell puts opening day blues behind him

A week of constant improvement at Augusta National finally delivered a Masters low round of 68 for Graeme McDowell and left the former US Open champion regretting his poor attitude on the opening day.

McDowell opened with a three-over-par 75 on Thursday and vented his frustration to reporters when he admitted the course he was so desperate to succeed on did not suit his game in any shape or form.

Yet the Portrush man bounced back, gradually, carding a level-par 72 on Friday to make the cut for only the second time in five Masters starts and then finishing with a weekend run of 71-68 to exit Augusta National at two under for the tournament.

“I guess it probably reminds me I need to be more patient with myself,” McDowell said of his week.

“I came off the golf course here on Thursday and I probably could have done with 10 minutes just to try and let the steam and the fog clear because I just bogeyed the last couple holes.

“I had played so negatively, and that frustrates me. That frustrates me when I play that negatively because I don’t give myself a chance to play.

“I had no chance with the attitude that I had that day.

“I get disappointed with myself more when my attitude is wrong, so I reset that attitude and came out on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and was a little bit better. It is nice to play better on the days when I’m on, and nice to finish with a career low 68 here at Augusta.”

In stark contrast to his first-round demeanour, McDowell was relaxed enough to see the bright side of his bogey at the par-three six when he had to back off his par putt when the 16th-hole gallery behind him began roaring in delight at Bo Van Pelt’s hole-in-one.

With his bogey out of the way, the Ulster man did not look back, holing back-to-back birdies on seven and eight and adding three more on his back nine.

“It was fun,” he said “You know, in a funny way, the roars and the cheers going up around here, they energise you. There’s something fun about laughing and joking with the crowd as another bomb goes off, another hole in one goes in.

“It’s just exciting. It’s a fun tournament to watch because of the risk-reward of the back nine here, because of the opportunities it does give you, and it’s a fun tournament. This golf course isn’t the perfect setup for me, but as the golf course got faster and firmer this week, all of a sudden I started to see my way around it. As I chipped the ball a little bit better, my bunker play was a bit better, I scrambled better, and I could start to see a little bit of a way around. But I’ll be back, as Arnold said!

“I’m looking forward to many more Augustas, many more Masters championships, and I’d love to put that green jacket on my back.

“But that was another couple of rounds towards achieving that goal sometime.”