G-Mac happy next five events will give him Ryder Cup lift

While a limited playing schedule this season has him well outside of qualifying for the Ryder Cup, Graeme McDowell is quietly confident five events in the next six weeks will lift him into Paul McGinley’s team.

McDowell’s French Open defence, commencing today on the National course outside of Versailles, is a first of two tournaments in Europe before three in the States, hopefully leading to the Irishman qualifying automatically for a fourth straight Ryder Cup.

The soon-to-be father is currently 16th overall on the points table and needs no reminder of his talent. Last year when he arrived in Versailles he was in the midst of an eight-week run when he missed five cuts but won three times.