McDowell takes Euro battle to Shanghai

Graeme McDowell hopes to extend his marriage celebrations by capturing the European number one crown.

Newly-wed McDowell heads into this week’s BMW Masters — the opening event of the Tour’s lucrative four-tournament Final Series — lying second on the Race to Dubai, behind Sweden’s Henrik Stenson.

“It feels good to get back to golf after getting married, as I feel fresh and rested after the few weeks off,” said McDowell.

“I have something fairly exciting to be chasing in the Race to Dubai number one crown so I feel good after such a fantastic wedding with the whole ceremony and the honeymoon was just great.”

McDowell trails Stenson by €425,572 but can easily make up the difference, with combined prize money over the next month of €22.1m, including a first prize this week of €851,346 in Shanghai.

However Stenson arrived in the Chinese financial capital sporting blue spider-like adhesive tape on his right forearm having damaged tendons practising last week at Lake Nona, Orlando.

After undergoing an MRI on Tuesday in Shanghai, Stenson has been cleared of any serious injury but is battling through the pain barrier to compete this week.

“If I am going to win the Race to Dubai, I would want to win it against a player who is fully fit and not injured,” said McDowell. “Henrik Stenson has easily been the best player in the world that last three to four months and I certainly don’t wish him any ill. I will get to play alongside him in the first round and see how well he is but then I will also be striving hard over my next three events to finish the year on a high by winning the Race to Dubai.

“I finished second to Martin Kaymer three years ago and you don’t get that many opportunities (to win the series), so I am taking this task very seriously. I’m playing next week’s HSBC Champions but not playing in Turkey and that’s only because I don’t want to be on the road for five weeks and away from my new wife.”

McDowell will play the opening round in Shanghai also alongside fellow Irishman and US Open winner, Rory McIlroy, and it what could be a ‘chilly’ 18 holes for the former management stable-mates.

While finishing runner-up last week in South Korea, McIlroy is lying 63rd on the Race to Dubai and needing a repeat of last year’s second place finish here in Shanghai to get himself back inside the top 60 and into the defence of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship starting on November 14 in Dubai.

Also in Shanghai is Shane Lowry along with Pádraig Harrington who has now slipped to 105 in the world and his lowest ranking in 14 years.

Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley has elected to take up the invitation from sponsors, BMW but a bizarre Tour ruling means the money he and fellow invitees John Daly and Germany’s Max Kieffer earn will not count towards the Race to Dubai.

This week will be McGinley’s final event for 2013 after having decided to forfeit competing in the upcoming India Open.

“I was thinking of withdrawing from this event but as BMW is a major Tour and Ryder Cup sponsor I’ve come here to Shanghai and instead I won’t play the India Open,” he said.

McGinley has arranged for a local female caddy to work for him this week with his regular caddy ‘Edinburgh Jimmy’ Rae still recovering from the after-effects of a serious bout of food poisoning that forced him out of the Portugal Masters.

“She’s a lot prettier and also a lot quicker than Jimmy,” joked McGinley.