Eyeing his hometown Open, McDowell makes big push at RBC Canadian Open

HAMILTON, Ontario – Graeme McDowell has played Royal Portrush upwards of 500 times in his life.

He wants to add a few more rounds to that total.

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McDowell has yet to qualify for this year’s Open Championship in Northern Ireland and with it returning to Portrush for the first time since 1951, McDowell, who grew up there, would love the chance to be in that field. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

But he said he’s been wrestling for months with “the Portrush dilemma” and has accepted his fate.

“I’m thinking of putting a statement out on Twitter and saying I appreciate everyone's concern,” McDowell said with a smile. “But I'm pretty much come to terms with the fact that if I play well between now and Portrush I will play.

“If I don't play well between now and Portrush I won't and I'll deserve not to play. I'm OK with that.”

McDowell has a chance to earn an exemption into the event if he finishes as one of the top-3 finishers this week (inside the top 10) who haven’t yet earned a spot since the RBC Canadian Open is one of four TOUR events that are part of The Open Qualifying Series. The other events include the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, Rocket Mortgage Classic, and John Deere Classic.

McDowell was in contention earlier this year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational after the first day, but fell back with an over-par score on Friday. This week, however, he backed up his opening 5-under 65 at Hamilton Golf and Country Club with a 3-under 67 Friday to finish the day in a tie for seventh, four shots back of the lead and just three shots back of third place.

He found the winner’s circle for the first time since 2015 at this year’s Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, but that victory did not earn him a spot in The Open.

Although Corales Golf Club could not be more different than Hamilton, through two rounds, McDowell has made the Canadian parkland layout feel like it’s the Punta Cana paradise.

He said the speed of the greens is similar, for one. They’re “slow-ish” he said, but that’s mostly a product of how much slope there is to them.

“You can't get them too quick because they would be really silly. They're at a pace where we're a little unused to it. But the slope on those greens, when you get an uphill putt, you have to hit it uncomfortably hard. I think growing up on slow-ish greens, I adapt well. The Dominican, when I won there, they were very slow. They are a nice what I call ‘make’ pace,” he said.

McDowell said in the last two days, he’s also driven the ball the best he has since his win in the Dominican Republic. He’s had a consistent run on the PGA TOUR the last year or so – he’s missed just one cut all season – and he credits his putting for that. He’s in the top-10 in Strokes Gained: Putting this season.

But while his steadiness has been rewarded with a solid standing in the FedExCup standings and his first win in nearly four years, there’s still that one tournament that’s not yet locked in on his schedule.

McDowell’s best result at The Open Championship is a T-5 in 2012 at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, and he knows there has never been a special exemption awarded to a player into The Open Championship.

But this week he said he’s got his mind on the Canadian Open, and will let the chips fall where they may.

“I could be (at Portrush) and miss a cut and think, ‘well, what was all the fuss about?’ I would rather play well this weekend and let Portrush take care of itself,” he said.

McDowell has a bit of a Canadian connection – beyond just being part of Team RBC – as the best man at his wedding was Tristan Mullally, who is now the head coach of Golf Canada’s National Team. Mullally, a longtime friend, said McDowell knows the process leads to the end goal, so he wasn’t surprised to hear McDowell say he’s shifted his mindset slightly.

“That’s what any good athlete would say and think,” said Mullally. “The reality is, he was a part of having that Open there and he knows the history and the last time it was there more than anybody. He feels like its something he had to be a part of, not just wants to be a part of, but had to be a part of.”

McDowell knows if he makes The Open Championship field there will be a lot of hometown pressure. His record at the Irish Open, an event on the European Tour, is “pretty awful,” he said, because of the extra focus.

“The fans and spectators want you to do well, and you feel that little bit of extra weight on your shoulders. It's not something I've dealt with well with over the years. It could be a mixture of pressure and maybe the Guinness tastes too good in Ireland,” said McDowell with a smile.

Still, before he has to deal with hometown pressure, he has to get into the event first.