THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Graeme McDowell has done a lot right this year, except for win. He now has one last chance to fix that.
Back on the course that has provided two key moments in his career, McDowell opened with three straight birdies Friday and finished strong for a 6-under 66, giving him a three-shot lead going into the weekend at the World Challenge.
“A good day’s work,” said McDowell, whose day was not over until he was escorted away for a drug test.
Bo Van Pelt got up-and-down from the drop zone for bogey on the final hole that gave him a 68, leaving him tied for second with Keegan Bradley and Jim Furyk, who each had a 69. Tournament host and defending champion Tiger Woods was tied for the lead on the back nine until he stalled and settled for a 69. He was four shots behind.
This is the final destination of a whirlwind trip for McDowell, who spent two weeks in China, a short holiday in Dubai, a tournament in Australia, back to Dubai and then across eight time zones to California.
It’s also been somewhat of a whirlwind year, filled with opportunity, but no trophies.
He played in the final group in back-to-back majors, the U.S. Open and British Open, without winning. He was on the winning Ryder Cup team again, only he concedes his game wasn’t there and he earned only one point.
McDowell always feels relaxed at Sherwood Country Club, with an 18-man field and no cut and the finish line clearly in his sights. Suddenly, though, he has something at stake. The World Challenge doesn’t belong to any tour. It offers world ranking points, though he isn’t in dire need of them. But there’s a trophy, and McDowell hasn’t hoisted one of those since that birdie-birdie finish to beat Woods in a playoff at Sherwood in 2010.
“I would love to compete and play well this weekend, really to kind of put a little icing on what’s been a mediocre year,” McDowell said. “Despite the fact that I feel like I’ve played some decent golf this year, I really don’t have a lot to show for myself, and this would be a nice way to finish.”
McDowell was at 9-under 135.
Even though McDowell’s win at Sherwood in 2010 capped a dream season — his U.S. Open title, the clinching point at the Ryder Cup — it was a runner-up finish in 2009 that set up all those spoils. He was a last-minute replacement for Woods, who didn’t play as his personal life unraveled, and McDowell finished second. It was the first year the tournament received ranking points, and McDowell earned enough to get into the Masters and eventually the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, which he won.
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