McDowell holds strong to win World Challenge

Updated December 03, 2012 11:54:32

Graeme McDowell continued his love affair with California with a first win in two years after holding off playing partner Keegan Bradley to clinch the World Challenge by three shots on Monday morning (AEDT).

The Northern Irishman, who had endured a title drought since his playoff victory here over tournament host Tiger Woods in 2010, ended his 2012 campaign on a triumphant note as he closed with a 4-under-par 68 to post a 17-under total of 271.

Though McDowell survived a few anxious moments over the closing stretch at a rain-soaked Sherwood Country Club, he rebounded from a bogey at the 13th with birdies at the 16th and the par-4 last to keep Bradley at bay.

McDowell, who won his first major title in the 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach in Northern California, coolly sank a six-footer on the 18th green to claim the winner's cheque for $US1 million with his fiance Kristin Stape looking on.

"I'm just over the moon to kind of get the job done," McDowell told reporters after improving his remarkable World Challenge record to two wins and a runner-up spot in three starts.

"Its been too long. Its been a hell of a two years since I sat here as a winner, and we all put winning kind of up on a pedestal as the ultimate goal.

"Keegan really pushed me today. He played great, and we really separated ourselves from the field and kind of made it the matchplay-type vibe."

Bradley finished second after signing off with a 69. American Bo Van Pelt (70) was alone in third at 10-under, a stroke better than compatriots Rickie Fowler (69), Jim Furyk (70) and five-times champion Woods 71.

"Overall I struggled with my game this week," said defending champion Woods, who had been bidding for a fourth victory this year. "I didn't quite have it.

"It's been a tough week for all of us. Just tough conditions to get the ball close. And yesterday and today it played really long."

Maintained advantage

Two ahead at the start of another rain-soaked day at Sherwood, McDowell maintained his advantage when he and playing partner Bradley both recorded two-putt birdies at the par-5 second.

Bradley trimmed McDowell's lead to one when he rolled in a 15-footer to birdie the fifth but he bogeyed the par-3 eighth, after missing the green off the tee, and the ninth, where he three-putted, to slide three shots back.
Both players birdied the par-4 10th before McDowell tightened his grip on the title by draining a curling 30-foot birdie putt at the 11th to stretch his lead to four.

However, Bradley benefited from a two-shot swing at the par-5 13th where McDowell recorded his first bogey in 42 holes.

While the American two-putted there for birdie, the Northern Irishman stumbled to a three-putt bogey after finding the right rough off the tee for his lead to be halved to two strokes.

Bradley never got closer though as McDowell saved par on 14 after finding rough off the tee, sank a 10-foot birdie putt at 16 and almost holed out for birdie from greenside rough at 17.

"It was a good battle today," said Bradley after mixing five birdies with two bogeys.

"Graeme just played so great. He just had one three-putt. Other than that, he just played awesome.

"Graeme really likes this place. Just when I thought maybe I'd have a good chance, he'd hole a putt or hit a chip like he did on 17. He's a champion, so I don't expect anything less out of him."

Reuters

Tags: golf, sport, united-states

First posted December 03, 2012 10:28:35

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Furyk and McDowell share US Open lead

Updated June 17, 2012 13:36:44

Former champions Jim Furyk and Graeme McDowell charged into a share of the lead in the third round of the US Open on Sunday (AEST), while Tiger Woods slipped down a congested leaderboard but still has the chance to end his major championship drought.

Australia's John Senden is also in contention after firing an impressive 2-under par 68 to move into a tie for eighth at 3-over-par overall, just four strokes behind Furyk and McDowell going into the final round.

Adam Scott is the next best Australian at 6-over for the tournament, while Rod Pampling (74), Alistair Presnell (75) and Jason Day (76) are well out of contention after enduring forgettable third rounds.

Furyk, the 2003 US Open winner, put himself in contention for a second major title after shooting an even-par 70 to remain at 1-under heading into the final day, which has all the makings of a grandstand finish with more than a dozen players within five strokes of the leading pair at the Olympic Club.

McDowell, who won the 2010 US Open at nearby Pebble Beach, joined the American at the top after capping his impressive round of 68 with a birdie at the 18th.

Sweden's Fredrik Jacobsen also shot a 68 to finish alone in third, two shots behind the leaders, with England's Lee Westwood (67), Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts (71), American Blake Adams (70) and South Africa's Ernie Els (68) a shot further back.

John Peterson (72) had a hole-in-one at the 180-yard 13th to join Webb Simpson (68), Jason Dufner (70), Kevin Chappell (68), Senden (68) and teenage amateur Beau Hossler (70) at 3-over.

Woods was tied for 14th at 4-over following his 75. He had started the day tied for the lead at 1-under with Furyk and David Toms, who fell to 5-over after a 76.

Seven different players had a share of the lead at some stage in the round but it was Furyk and McDowell on top at the end of a riveting day's golf in northern California.

Furyk rebounded from two early bogeys to birdie the 268-yard seventh hole when he got up and down from a greenside bunker and then birdied the par-4 11th when he drained a 12-foot putt.

He dropped another shot on the 16th but two-putted the par-5 17th to get back in red numbers.

Woods, bidding to win his first major in four years, made a terrible start when he bogeyed four of the first eight holes then finished poorly with bogeys in two of his last three holes.

McDowell navigated his way through the treacherous first six holes with a string of pars but dropped a shot on the ninth when he hit his approach into the trees.

The Northern Irishman made amends with a birdie on the 10th and 13th then picked up another shot at the last when he struck his approach to within five feet of the pin.

Westwood drained a monster putt on the final hole for his fifth birdie of the round to give himself a real chance of winning his first major after seven top-three finishes during his career.

"Every time you get yourself in contention you learn something new," Westwood said.

"I've picked little bits out of all of those, but the main thing is just to go out there and believe that I'm good enough."

Els, who won the US Open twice in the mid 1990s, had the huge galleries roaring with excitement when he chipped in for eagle at the 17th after a terrible start to his round with three bogeys in the first five holes.

"The shot on 17 is what dreams are made of," he said.

"I guess it was about a probably almost a 50 yard shot almost into the hole so it's one of those one-in-a-thousand shots."

Leaderboard

ABC/Reuters

Tags: sport, golf, united-states

First posted June 17, 2012 13:15:27

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Furyk, McDowell set to battle stingy Olympic

Updated June 18, 2012 07:04:17

Graeme McDowell and Jim Furyk share a two-shot lead going into today's final round of the US Open at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, where the early scores were further sign of just what they were in for.

The two former champions were the only players under par after three rounds, sharing the lead on 1-under 209.

They were due to tee off at 8:10am (AEST), under increasingly overcast skies and with a chilly breeze doing the job of drying and firming the par-70 hillside course.

Among the early starters, Zach Johnson proved there were birdies to be had as he strung together three straight from the seventh hole.

But he also had three bogeys to stand even for the day and still 10-over for the tournament through 11 holes.

Italy's Francesco Molinari opened with a double bogey at the daunting par-four first - playing at 532 yards on Monday (AEST) - but nabbed three birdies to be among the handful to dip below par for the day in the early going.

Joe Ogilvie, out in the first group, staggered home with a 9-over 79 for a 23-over total of 303 and said the speed of the greens on the back nine was devastating.

Both McDowell and Furyk already knew that dogged tenacity would be needed, along with a big dollop of patience in the face of inevitable disasters.

As Furyk put it: "stuff happens at US Opens sometimes."

The 15 players within five shots of the lead included a wealth of talent and experience.

While fans were sure to focus on 14-time major champion Tiger Woods - five shots off the lead - McDowell noted world number three Lee Westwood and two-time champion Ernie Els just three shots back.

"Looking at the leaderboard, you've got to look down as far as the guys at three or four (over) as having a realistic chance of winning this tournament."

Live leaderboard

AFP

Tags: sport, golf, united-states

First posted June 18, 2012 07:04:17

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Simpson fends off McDowell to win US Open

Updated June 18, 2012 16:25:06

Webb Simpson has won the US Open at San Francisco's Olympic Club after his superb chip out of the rough on the 18th hole proved decisive.

And in the aftermath of his one-stroke win, he seemed more surprised to find himself sitting beside the trophy than the string of major champions he left in his wake.

"To be honest, I never really wrapped my mind around winning," said Simpson, who put together back-to-back rounds of 68 to finish 1-over-par and one stroke in front of former champion Graeme McDowell and Michael Thompson.

Simpson came out on top on a day that saw former champion Jim Furyk lead most of the way, two-time champions Ernie Els and Retief Goosen make an impression on the leaderboard and Ireland's three-time major winner Padraig Harrington make a late run.

The best of the Australians was John Senden, who briefly found himself in a large group battling for the title before ultimately posting a 2-over-par 72 to finish in a tie for 10th.

Adam Scott carded a 70 for the third day in a row to finish in a tie for 15th, while fellow Aussies Alistair Presnell (70), Jason Day (73) and Rod Pampling (78) ended their campaigns with mixed results.

If 14-time major champion Tiger Woods was conspicuously absent from the leaderboard, he was still on Simpson's mind.

"One of my thoughts on the back nine was "I don't know how Tiger has won 14 of these things," Simpson said.

"I couldn't feel my legs on the back nine."

The affable 26-year-old from North Carolina, who won his first two titles on the US tour last year and challenged Luke Donald for the money title late last season, was playing just his second US Open.

He was not ashamed to admit to nerves - before the round, during the round and even after the round as he waited to see if McDowell or Furyk could force a play-off.

"I was so nervous all day, but especially there at the end," said Simpson, who did a quick TV interview after his round then settled in with his wife Dowd in a quiet spot to watch the overnight leaders finish.

"We tried to watch videos of our son James that we have on our phone, and we did that to stay calm," he said.

When McDowell's putt to force a play-off slid past the hole, Simpson could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The text messages of congratulations came flooding in, but Simpson said he was still having trouble getting to grips with his achievement.

On his caddie's advice, he had not looked at a leaderboard since his second bogey of the day at the fifth hole until he wrapped his round to cheers at 18.

"The crowd was kind of telling me where I stood," he said.

"They were getting louder and really pulling for me, which I appreciated.

"I putted out on 18 and that was the first time I looked since early on the front nine, and I knew it was going to be close coming in."

Simpson jump started his round with a birdie at the par-four sixth, which yielded just two birdies on Sunday.

"It's one of the toughest on the golf course because our driver gets to the bunker and our three-wood doesn't," he said.

"My caddie kind of talked me into hitting a driver on the weekend ... today it set us up for a seven-iron.

"It ended up about five feet and made birdie."

He also birdied the next two and picked up another shot at the 10th.

Simpson, who pocketed $US1.44 million for the victory, said that even after his break-out 2011 season, he did not feel he was necessarily homing in on a major victory.

His aim, he said, was just to keep improving.

"I wanted to just come out and continue to improve my game, continue to improve my mental capacity to play well in tournaments," he said.

"I've had a slow year compared to last year, but I've been pleased because I felt like I was getting better."

AFP/ABC

Tags: sport, golf, united-states

First posted June 18, 2012 10:30:55

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Day paired with McDowell, Watson

Updated July 12, 2011 06:27:00

Australia's world No.8 Jason Day has been placed in one of the most intriguing groupings for the opening day of this year's British Open at Royal St George's.

The Queenslander, who has finished second at the past two majors, will link up with last year's US Open winner Graeme McDowell and big-hitting American Bubba Watson on Thursday.

They are due to tee off at 1.43pm (2243 AEST) at Sandwich, Kent.

The biggest drawcard at this year's tournament will be Rory McIlroy following the popular Northern Irishman's runaway US Open triumph at Congressional last month.

He is due to commence at 9:09am (1809 AEST) with three-time major winner Ernie Els and exciting American Rickie Fowler.

Aaron Baddeley is playing in the group ahead of McIlroy and the Australian needs to look no further than playing partner Ben Curtis on how to negotiate his way around the course.

The American won the event the last time it was held at Royal St George's in 2003.

They will be joined by England's Paul Casey.

World No.17 Adam Scott will tee off alongside 2007 US Masters champion Zach Johnson and England's Justin Rose at 1:32pm (2232 AEST).

Australia's Geoff Ogilvy has an early start at 8.09am (1709 AEST) with Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez and promising American Peter Uihlein.

-AAP

Tags: sport, golf, australia, united-kingdom, england

First posted July 12, 2011 05:53:00

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McDowell takes on McIlroy in Spain

Posted May 21, 2011 16:45:00

Fellow Northern Irishmen and Ryder Cup colleagues Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy will meet in a mouth-watering World Match Play Championship last 16 clash in Casares, Spain.

McDowell, the US Open champion, topped his group when he followed up his win over British Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa with a last green victory against Venezuela's Jhonattan Vegas.

McIlroy, who defeated South Africa's Retief Goosen by one hole in his opener, slumped to a shock 3 and 2 loss to Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts.

"Rory beats me every time we play together," McDowell said.

"But this isn't the Northern Ireland match play championship and I'm hoping it's going to be different. It's the Volvo World Match Play and the pressure is on.

"He is a fabulous player, so talented. This course is all about driving the ball and he is pretty good at that. It's hard to play against a close friend, but you've got to leave your friendship on the sidelines."

McIlroy said about facing McDowell: "He's not going to give me anything - it's going to be a really tough match.

"I'll just try and treat it like I'm playing anyone else. I'm here to try to win a tournament and I need to get through him - that's the number one thing on my mind."

In another all-Ryder Cup clash for a place in the quarter-finals, world number one Lee Westwood faces Ian Poulter, who won the WGC Match Play title last year.

Westwood, who had cruised past Denmark's Anders Hansen 6 and 5, was dominant again, seeing off Australia's Aaron Baddeley 4 and 3.

"I've carried on from where I left off in Indonesia and Korea," said Westwood, who is now seeking his third successive victory.

"I will try to keep that going, but match play is different - you can play well and lose."

Poulter halved with Scotland's 1999 British Open champion Paul Lawrie, just as he had with Italian Francesco Molinari on the opening day.

Luke Donald and Martin Kaymer, both of whom could take the number one spot off Westwood this weekend, had their second victories.

Donald beat defending champion Ross Fisher 3 and 1 and next plays Sweden's Johan Edfors.

Fisher faces South Africa's Masters champion Charl Schwartzel.

Kaymer reached the last 16 with a 2 and 1 win over Noh Seung-yul, the German's second successive win over a South Korean after seeing off Yang Yong-Eun by the same score the previous day.

There was also the first three-man play-off in the history of the event caused by Schwartzel, Edfors and Miguel Angel Jimenez all finishing with a win and loss each.

Jimenez went out when he bogeyed the first extra hole and Schwartzel topped the group when Edfors bogeyed the next.

-AFP

Tags: sport, golf, spain

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