G-Mac: I’ll kiss Wanamaker when I’ve earned it

After recently reluctantly agreeing to be photographed with the Claret Jug in France, Graeme McDowell will turn down a request to pose with the Rodman Wanamaker Trophy, the prize in capturing next week’s USPGA Championship.

McDowell was asked ahead of this week’s WGC–Bridgestone Invitational if he would join a list of stars competing next week in Louisville, Kentucky to be photographed with golf’s heaviest trophy in a promotional exercise.

But McDowell is reluctant to oblige: “They want us in the locker room next week to pick up the Wanamaker Trophy, and hug it and kiss it and do all these things but then part of me doesn’t want to do that,” he said.

“I would rather be kissing and hugging the Wanamaker Trophy when it’s my time to do that, and hopefully late next Sunday week.

“It’s not a jinx thing but more out of respect for the individual championships, so I don’t want anyone to be handing me a championship trophy until I have actually earned it.

“The closest I’ve come to the Wanamaker Trophy was at Sea Island in 2001 when I played in the Walker Cup and we were invited around to Davis Love III’s house for a party and he had a replica of the Wanamaker Trophy after winning the PGA Championship in 1997.”

McDowell has a focus though, on another trophy — the gleaming Ryder Cup trophy.

McDowell is currently 11th and just two spots from breaking into the top nine who will qualify automatically for Paul McGinley’s European team.

“I am going for my fourth Ryder Cup in a row, so I am excited to have the opportunity ahead of me but I’ve learned to have it in the back of my mind and it’s not something that gets me fired up every week I tee it up,” he said.

“Generally, the game is in good shape coming off a top-10 at the Open and a ninth last week in Canada so I am excited about the next few weeks.

“Also we’ve a baby coming in four weeks so there is a lot of good things in the air for me.”

In contrast, Tiger Woods is well outside of qualifying automatically for the USA team, but was adamant on the eve of this Bridgestone defence he could easily relieve Tom Watson from having to use one of his wildcard picks on the seven-time American Ryder Cup star.

“I would like to win these two events and not have to worry about a thing,” said Woods.

“That’s the plan, that’s the mind-set and that’s the focus, and we’ll see how the balls drop these next two weeks.”

* Meanwhile, mystery surrounds the withdrawal of American Dustin Johnson from this week’s event and also next week’s Major.

Johnson recently celebrated his 30th birthday and cited no injury in missing the halfway cut in last week’s RBC Canadian Open, and with the Tour citing “personal reasons”.

The American is currently fifth overall on the USA Ryder Cup standings and rumours are now circulating that he could be missing from September’s showdown at Gleneagles.