Graeme McDowell in mix in first WM Phoenix Open start in 16 years

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Graeme McDowell had just shot 68 in the first round of the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale, his first round here in 16 years, but he was hardly feeling cocky.

“For me it's just day by day at the minute,” said McDowell, who missed the cut in 10 of 15 starts last season and has fallen to 358th in the world. “I'm just really trying to layer good days on good days.”

It doesn’t seem like that long ago that McDowell won the U.S. Open and the decisive Ryder Cup singles match over Hunter Mahan, not to mention a bunch of other stuff. Alas, that was back in 2010. Nowadays, McDowell, a four-time PGA TOUR winner, is 42 and trying to find the player he used to be.

Not only that, but he’s doing this wayfinding on a course that may as well be brand new to him, given that the last time he played this rowdy desert tournament was 2006.

“You're making me old,” he said of the long stretch between starts. “But it's a fantastic week. I mean, obviously watching it on TV, heard the guys talking about it … we played early this morning, so I got to see 16 fairly benign. We'll play it (Friday) afternoon a little later on, when I'm sure there will be a few beverages starting to flow and the atmosphere should be a lot of fun.

“But the golf course is sensational,” he continued. “Not sure I've seen a better conditioned golf course than this one and it's playing firm and fast which suits (me). Greens are fantastic and it's been one of those weeks where I'm trying to wonder why it's been 16 years since I've been here.”

If the four-time Ryder Cup player and 11-time DP World Tour winner has been rethinking everything, including which tournaments to play, you can understand why. The results just haven’t been there, with just one top-10 finish, a T4 at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, since the start of last season.

This week he’s been trying to learn the green complexes at a TPC Scottsdale course that, with its slopes and runoff areas, may as well be brand new to him. So far, so good.

“It's been a really tough 18 months,” McDowell said, “and I'm really just trying to keep things simple, just work hard, have good days, hopefully those will add up to being in contention and I'll give myself some chances to win and that's really just the goal at the minute is just to try and be as patient as I can.”